GPH 381

What is Cultural Services?

. Spiritual enrichment • Aesthetic experiences Many attach religious values to ecosystems. Ecosystems inspire art, songs, and architecture. Hiking in a national park or participating in ecotourism are examples of cultural services.

What is a natural resource?

Anything that comes from nature

What is Provisioning?

Needed by humans to support their life, like food, fuel, and fiber. examples; - A cornfield - Fresh water

Systems Thinking

• A system has parts that are interrelated and interdependent • Systems have specific goals and distinctive boundaries

Biofuel

• Biomass can be converted to liquid fuel • Ethanol and biodiesal Indirect solar energy means that the sun is used to power other processes. This includes biomass, wind and hydropower. Biomass is the organic materials that makes up all living things. Biomass can be converted to methane, which is the main ingredient in natural gas. This is called biogas. Biodiesal can be made from plant and animal oils and is an interesting alternative fuel. Ethanol is alcohol made from the glucose in corn, barley, and other grains, and is widely blended with petroleum gas to limit pollutants. At least half of the world's population relies on biomass for some form of energy. Biomass has moved up to the 3rd most used renewable energy source in the United States.

Restoration

• Filling in mine • Preventing soil erosion • Removing pollutants Even though mines have negatively impacted many locations, many mines have been restored. Restoration often involves filling in the mine, planting vegetation to avoid soil erosion, and removing pollutants and heavy metals from the soil.

Entropy

• Measure of disorder in a system • Quantifies energy loss in a food web Waste also occurs within the ecosystem energy flow and trophic efficiency. The 2nd law of thermodynamics explains how this happens. As energy is used and changes form, some energy is no longer available to be used. This is entropy in a system.

Age Structure

• Pre-reproductive: bottom level • Reproductive: mid-levels • Post-reproductive: top levels Population geographers plot the percentage of people in an area based on age and gender. The age structure diagram is also called a population pyramid because the chart can look like a pyramid. The bottom of the chart shows the youngest people, or pre-reproductive ages, the middle shows reproductive ages, and the top shows the oldest people, or post-reproductive ages. An age structure diagram can help estimate the population growth in a country.

What are the four categories of "Ecosystem services"?

• Provisioning • Regulating • Cultural • Supporting

Subsurface Mining

• Shaft mining: vertical Small buckets haul to surface • Slope mining: angled Large vehicles transport to surface Subsurface mining is less disruptive to the surface, but more dangerous for the miners. It's also usually more costly. A shaft mine is a vertical shaft. The ore is hauled out in smaller buckets. A slope mine allows the use of larger vehicles to transport the minerals to the surface.

Stocks and flows

• Stock is a part of the system • Flow is the transfer between stocks

What else David Harvey said?

- Human resource as a natural resource - Technological developments as drivers for natural resources

Fukushima

During the 2011 Japanese earthquake and tsunami, the Fukushima nuclear plant suffered damage, which led to a nuclear meltdown in three of their six nuclear reactors. Water is used to cool the fuel rods in a nuclear plant. This radioactive water leaked into the groundwater and into the Pacific Ocean. A plume of radioactive water was detected moving in the Pacific Ocean to the west coast of the United States. Total radiation levels were determined to be harmless to humans. The impacts to marine life is still unknown. The Fukushima plant is currently being decommissioned.

Sustainability

Economic growth meets the needs of present without compromising future needs

What is a Flow?

Flows are then the movements or transfers between stocks. ex; Evaporation

IPAT

Mathematical model to assess human impact on the environment. developed by Paul Ehrlich and John Holdren in the early 1970s.

Leverage points

Small change that might produce a large consequence.

Systems thinking definition

Systems thinking is a way of understanding connections among different parts of a larger, interconnected operation or process. They help us think about how we can manage our resources.

Industrial Revolution, Continue...

Thomas Malthus published his instrumental work on population growth in 1798. Malthusian theory relates resource limitation to population size. The 1864 book Man and Nature by George Perkins Marsh introduced some of the earliest discussions of humans as agents of environmental change. Marsh is considered by some to be the father of ecology. These influences allowed societies to start rethinking their relationship with the environment.

Does the United States has any committee for natural resources?

Yes

Natural Resource definition (for this class)

matter or energy in nature specifically accessed by humans that has intrinsic value by individuals or society.

The term "ecosystem service" was advanced to

to highlight the importance of the environment to people.

Waste

• Developed countries: food waste is 30-40% of food supply • United States: waste 3rd largest source of methan In the United States and other developed countries, food waste is estimated as 30-40 percent of the food supply. Waste not only impacts food insecurity, it also impacts the ecosystem. Food waste often is placed in landfills, which then produces methane. Food waste is considered the third largest source of methane in the United States. Methane is a greenhouse gas that contributes to climate impacts. Waste impacts land, water, labor, and energy because of the wasted productivity and processes at all levels of the supply chain.

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development "Challenge areas"

• Forecast longer trends • Better understand human environment interactions • Delineate leverage points • Establish incentives • Promote interdisciplinary approach

Biocapacity, Continue...

• Many countries consume more resources than supported by their biocapacity • Ecological footprint > biocapacity The average person in the United States has an ecological footprint of 24 and a biocapacity of 12. That means that the United States extends it's consumption beyond its political boundaries. Most countries consume more resources than supplied by their geopolitical borders. However, wealthy countries generally consume more and poor countries generally consume less.

Wicked problems

• More parts = more complex • System is less predictable • Harder to manage - We identify problems in complex systems as wicked problems. examples are: - Climate change is a wicked problem. - poverty - global water supply

Scarce earth materials

• Nickel • Tungsten • Copper • Tin • Precious metals: Gold, Silver, Platinum Scarce or rare earth materials make up less than a tenth of 1 percent of the earth's crust. Typically, scarce metals like nickel, tungsten, copper, and tin are concentrated in their deposits. This requires underground mining. Precious metals like gold, silver, and platinum are scarce materials that have a high economic value. The can be found as less than 1 part per billion by weight in the earth's crust.

What are the three main themes that the Millennium assessment found?

1. many ecosystem services are being changed. 2. many ecosystems are becoming more susceptible to change. 3. these changes affect all humans but disproportionately affect the poor.

How many planets does it take to support Hong Kong's lifestyle?

3.9 Footprints can move in scale from individual impacts to countries to global impacts. As a country becomes more affluent, the size of its footprint increases. More of the resources consumed then come from energy like fossil fuels and renewables like hydropower. The ecological footprint can be extrapolated to report how many earths are needed to support that footprint.

What is the Brundtland Report?

A UN report to address the acceleration of the envi degradation and over-consumption of natural resources. - The Brundtland Report was published in 1987 - considered the starting point for the discipline of sustainability

Reactor types

A nuclear reactor is machine that maintains the nuclear fission process. This occurs in the reactor's core. There are two main reactors. About two thirds of the nuclear reactors in the United States are pressurized water reactors. These are also called PWRs. Another common type of reactor is the boiling water reactor, or BWR. Nuclear reactors need water to act as a coolant and to generate steam. All nuclear power plants essentially create heat through nuclear fission that then creates steam.

Economic systems, Continue...

A planned economy is fully regulated by the government. China has a quasi-planned economy where the government maintains ownership and controls currency and market valuation. China has tried to formally achieve market status with the World Trade Organization. This has been opposed by the United States and the EU. If China were to participate freely in global markets, they could disrupt trading balances because they could undercut current market prices.

Drivers

Action or item causing change. - Drivers can be natural or anthropogenic. They can cause direct or indirect consequences. - An example of a system is; 1. the hydrologic cycle 2. deforestation

Sustainable Agriculture

Adequate food for a growing world must be carefully considered. The move to sustainable agricultural practices would maintain soil productivity with minimal longterm impacts to the environment. Sustainable agriculture is not a single program. It must be adapted to the local needs based on soil types, water supply, climate, and cultural practices.

What is Supporting Services?

Assist other ecosystem services. examples; - Soil formation is an example of a supporting service. - The production of oxygen through photosynthesis

Energy units

British Thermal Unit • Heat energy Metric tonne • 1000 kilograms • ~2200 pounds Barrel • 42 gallons Units used to discuss energy include BTU, barrels, and metric tons. A BTU is a British thermal unit. It's a measure of heat energy. It's the amount of energy needed to raise 1 pound of water 1 degree Fahrenheit. One BTU is equal to 1055 Joules. A joule is a unit of work or energy. A metric tonne is equal to 1000 kilograms, or 2200 pounds. The ton in the United States is equal to 2000 pounds. One barrel of crude oil is equal to 42 gallons. Natural gas is measured in cubic feet.

Urban Hydrology

Cities by definition are structured from man made materials and surfaces. Water no longer infiltrates naturally and instead is engineered for transport and containment. Urban locations are susceptible to flooding. As infiltration decreases, runoff increases. The lag time between precipitation and runoff is shortened in urban environments, which means there is very little warning for flooding events. Pollution is also a problem in urban locations. Stormwater is the transport of motor oils and other surface pollutants into the water supply. Septic tanks can leak into groundwater.

What is included in The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment was published in 2006?

It focuses on the relationships between ecosystems and humans

Impacts of Dams

Lake Powell was created upstream of the Grand Canyon by the installation of the Glen Canyon Dam in the 1960s. Lake Powell is an oligotrophic lake. That is a very cold and clear lake. The environment is very nutrient deprived, and then this is the clean, cool water that gets released downstream into the Grand Canyon. The Colorado River prior to the dam installation was muddy, warmer, and full of nutrients. The river ecosystem would also experience spring floods, which would help build habitat and beaches. Many plants and animals were not able to adapt to the oligotrophic conditions created by the dam.

Urbanization

Many of the projected megacities are in coastal locations, like Tokyo and Shanghai. These locations are susceptible to hazards like tsunamis and hurricanes. Megacities near plate boundaries like Mexico City are susceptible to earth-shaking events. Large cities in many countries already struggle with providing a safe infrastructure, which means these residents often deal with raw sewage in the streets, like in India, or a poor or inconsistent electrical supply, like in Moscow, or high levels of deadly particulate matter, like in Beijing. Poverty, unemployment, violence, and environmental degradation are issues that must be resolved to move toward sustainable development.

Earth materials

Rocks are aggregates of minerals, and are classified based on their formation processes. Igneous, Sedimentary, and Metamorphic rocks provide different natural resources.

Photovoltaic cells

Sunlight is transmitted in streaming packets called photons. The photovoltaic cells absorb the photons, which dislodges electrons in the cell and allows energy to flow. Photovoltaic cells have a limited lifespan and must be regularly replaced. It seems counterintuitive, but too much sunlight can degrade the cells much faster. The goal is to develop a cheap and efficient photovoltaic cell.

What is Natural Capital?

The study of Ecosystem valuation

Thermal pollution

The water used to cool nuclear reactors is simply hot water, but when you dump hot water into a stream, it affects the dissolved oxygen content. Dissolved oxygen decreases in warmer water temperatures. This is an example of thermal pollution.

The US Forest definition says:

forest and grass lands are natural resource because they contribute to our well being

Capital in the eye of economist is?

is wealth in the form of money or assets

Managing Commons

• Elinor Ostrum Elinor Ostrum won the Nobel Peace Prize in Economics for providing solutions to this problem. She found that shared space could be sustainably managed by communities. The community needed certain things, like shared governance and shared vision. The resource needed to be important to the community. Early intervention was essential.

Tragedy of the Commons

• Garrett Hardin: 1968 • Lack of accountability with shared space Garrett Hardin published an article called The Tragedy of the Commons in 1968. A commons is an area shared by many and owned by none. The atmosphere could be considered a commons. Resource issues arise when ownership isn't clear. No one is accountable or takes responsibility for the care of that resource. Property shared or accessible by a group with unregulated access often becomes a dumping ground for waste. That's the tragedy of shared space.

Production and consumption

• Global coal demand has been dropping since 2015 Global coal demand has been dropping since 2015. This is primarily due to an increase in renewable energy sources and an increase in energy efficiency. Demand has been declining in Canada, United States, Europe and China. Growth is concentrated in India and southeast Asia. China remains the largest consumer. The United States has the largest deposits of coal, with over 27% of the world reserves. The US contributes less than 15% of the world's production. China has more than 50% of the world's coal production.

Migration

• Immigrants: entering • Emigrants: leaving Migration is not necessarily a factor for global growth rates, but must be considered for local scales such as countries and regions. The net migration rate is the difference between in and out migration per 1000 people.

Externalities

• Impact beyond a market transaction • Positive: benefit to ecosystem • Negative: harmful to ecosystem Externalities are impacts beyond simple market transactions between producers and consumers. For example, honey production provides a positive benefit to the overall ecosystem because the supply of pollinators improves. That's a positive externality. A negative externality has a negative impact. Tempe Town Lake hosts many community events that generate revenue for the city and various operators. The events often use loudspeakers late into night, producing noise pollution in the surrounding neighborhoods. Noise pollution would be a negative externality.

Inorganic chemicals

• Inorganic chemicals do not contain carbon Inorganic chemicals do not contain carbon in their chain, and include things like calcium and magnesium. Both of these elements are naturally found in water supplies and needed for health. When they exceed certain thresholds, calcium and magnesium contribute to hard water that leaves scaling on materials. They can also contribute to the formation of kidney stones in the body.

Triple bottom line

• Intersection of people, planet, and profit = sustainability - John Elkington developed the concept of the triple bottom line or TBL in 1994.

Water sanitation

• Primary reduces biological chemical demand (BOD) About 11% of wastewater in the United States receives only mechanical screening to remove suspended and floating debris. This primary treatment results in a material called primary sludge, which often becomes fertilizer.

Unconfined aquifers

• Recharge is when water enters the aquifer Groundwater is the water that can be mined when it is held in aquifers. There are different types of aquifers depending upon the subsurface strata. Unconfined aquifers have an unrestricted recharge area because they have a permeable layer above the aquifer, such as sandstone. However, the water is not under high pressure and requires some mechanism to withdraw the groundwater.

Forests location and history

• Timber: harvested trees • Used for fuel, paper, shelter Timber has always been an important material. Used primarily for fuel, paper, and shelter, the amount of woodland in developed countries is largely stable and managed sustainably. In the United States, nearly all harvested wood comes from private ownership. The owners harvest and maintain their materials. They also are hired by the Forest Service to maintain the health of the national forests.

Agricultural ecosystems, Continue...

* Most tropical land is used for cattle, soy, timber, palm oil 200 years ago, the German explorer Alexander von Humboldt identified vegetation assembled according to climate regimes. The two primary physical factors for agricultural productivity are temperature and precipitation. Latitude is the main temperature control, where more radiation is received in the tropics and decreases poleward. More radiative input means more energy for photosynthesis, so biomes near the equator are more productive. Topography also affects the climate by influencing the temperature and precipitation patterns.

examples of "Regulating Services"

- The timing and magnitude of stream runoff can alleviate drought, recharge aquifers or restructure habitat. The spread of pestilence and disease can be regulated by ecosystems.

The IPAT shows;

- developed countries have 16% of the population but use 75% of the world's energy. - As developing countries increase their consumption, their impact will likely overtake developed countries.

example of Stock are

- the ocean - the water in a reservoir behind a dam would be another stock.

Food production vs distribution

About half of all food produced is available to be consumed by people. The other half is used to feed livestock or to create biofuels or other products. However, there is more than enough food produced to feed the world. Unfortunately, over 800 million people struggle with food insecurity. The problem with food insecurity is less related to production and more related to unequal distribution. Impacts from extreme weather events and political disruption also influence food insecurity. Distribution is impacted by technology and globalization. This creates complex markets. These markets limit consumer access and separate producers from their product. Transporting goods to the market is impacted in rural and developing counties by poorly maintained infrastructure.

Testing

According to the World Health Organization, more than 70% of the world's population uses a monitored water source. In most developed countries, water is routinely tested for components that can affect health. These include, pH, temperature, conductivity, and turbidity. Conductivity measures salt content, and turbidity measures dissolved solids. pH measures the acidity of the water sample. According to the World Health Organization, more than 70% of the world's population uses a monitored water source. In most developed countries, water is routinely tested for components that can affect health. These include, pH, temperature, conductivity, and turbidity. Conductivity measures salt content, and turbidity measures dissolved solids. pH measures the acidity of the water sample.

Renewable profiles

Almost 90% of the energy profile in the United States is from nonrenewable energy sources, like coal, natural gas, and nuclear. Renewable sources are much more plentiful, but are harder to integrate into the profile. That is changing though.

Thermal Stratification

Another example of thermal pollution comes from dams. Mud and silt accumulate behind dams, resulting in a huge buildup of sediments. Water that's released downstream from a dam is then usually much cleaner and colder than the normal flow.

Desalinization

Approximately 75% global desalination usage: • Saudi Arabia • Kuwait • United Arab Emirates • Qatar • Bahrain • Libya There are over 18000 desalinization plants worldwide. Most are installed in Saudi Arabia and they supply 50% of that country's water supply. Southern California struggles with water scarcity. They've been exploring the installation of desalinization plants for years. There are many factors that limit the sustainability of desalinization. Filtering or evaporating fresh water is expensive. Energy inputs are required which are typically fossil fuels. There are impacts to marine life as water is drawn into the plant. Salt waste is produced. Southern California finally approved their first plant in San Diego. It contributes less than 7% of the water supply but cost over a billion dollars, not including operating costs.

Ocean life zones

Certain marine species are found only in certain ocean life zones. The horizontal zones extend from the coast and move out to the open ocean. The intertidal zone is at the coast, and includes locations that may be submerged during high tide. The low tide marks the start of the pelagic zone, which includes the neritic and oceanic zones. The pelagic zone is the largest aquatic habitat. Common pelagic species are herring, sardines, and tuna. The benthic zone is under the pelagic zone and is the deepest portion of the ocean. Benthic fish include flounder and sole. Crustaceans like lobster are benthic when mature but pelagic when young.

Megacities

Cities occupy 3% of the land but account for upward of 80% of energy consumption and 75% of carbon emissions. Currently 828 million people live in slums and that continues to increase. Looking at the issue geographically, 8 of the 10 future megacities are projected in developing countries. A megacity has 10 million or more residents. If these cities don't have a strong economy, that particular pillar for building a sustainable community fails. Although cities offer more job opportunities than rural areas, urban growth has overwhelmed economic growth in developing nations.

Deepwater crude deposits

Crude oil is found on every continent but in uneven distributions. Large oil deposits are found under continental shelves and other deep water areas in the ocean. As technology has improved, oil drilling rigs are able to drill deeper. Ultra deep water depths are reaching nearly 2 kilometers below the surface. Most drilling platforms reach depths of 500 meters.

Production and consumption

Crude oil prices are largely controlled by supply and demand on the global market. Local issues, such as refinery problems, can affect the local price of petroleum products, like gasoline. Geopolitical issues, like war, and even weather can affect the supply and demand. Seasonal changes also affect the market. In the United States, seasonal blends of gasoline can affect the supply as well as the price. Heating oil demands in the winter can cause prices to spike from the higher demand.

Delays

Delays identify temporal scale - There's always a delay to achieve reproductive age. Delays help identify timescales of the feedbacks and provide an overall temporal scale of the system.

Solar Energy

Direct solar energy refers to the energy transmitted directly from the sun. It's also called radiant energy. Radiant energy is used by plants for photosynthesis, but it can also do the work of heating up surfaces and evaporating water. Radiant energy can also be stored, like in urban materials and building structure. This adds to the heat load and can affect heating or cooling needs.

The Atmosphere

Ecosystem Services • Protects Earth • Absorbs energy • Recycles water The atmosphere is essential to life as we know it. Without the atmosphere, all of the water that evaporates from the oceans would be lost to outer space. The atmosphere allows the water to cool and condense, precipitating back to earth as the hydrologic cycle. The ozone layer completely blocks deadly UVC radiation from reaching the surface, and helps block some of the UVB radiation. UV radiation causes skin cancer and cataracts, and can disrupt the genetic structure of cells.

Adaptation

Ecosystem services are lost when biodiversity is lost in urban environments. City planners increase urban biodiversity through parks and greenways. Greenways are undeveloped sections of a city. Parks, greenways, urban lakes, and urban forestry diminish heat island impacts and decrease flooding potential. Ecosystem-based adaptation techniques promote environmental and socioeconomic benefits

What is Regulating Services?

Ecosystems self-regulate • Assist human health

El Nino

El Nino Southern Oscillation, or ENSO, is one of many different teleconnections. A teleconnection is an interaction between the ocean and the atmosphere that can affect global winds and storm tracks. El Nino is the warm phase of ENSO, and La Nina is the cold phase. During an El Nino event, the water in the equatorial Pacific gets warmer than normal. This causes high and low pressure centers to shift, and the global trade wind to weaken or reverse. Changing the direction of the global winds then disrupts the global storm tracks. Locations that are normally dry, like the Atacama Desert, are destroyed by flooding during an El Nino.

Energy Conservation vs. Energy Efficiency

Energy conservation and energy efficiency both accomplish the same task, which is to save energy. The techniques between the two are different. Energy conservation means to use less energy by reducing energy usage or waste. An example of energy conservation is to use less gas by taking shorter trips or carpooling. Energy efficiency uses less energy usually through the use of technology. Using a car that gets better gas mileage than an old car is energy efficient.

Nitrogen Cycling

Essential nutrients: • Potassium • Calcium • Magnesium • Iron • Phosphorus • Nitrogen Organic material is essential to the soil acidity, as are potassium, calcium, magnesium, and iron. Some species are more successful in alkaline soils, some do better in acid soils. Nitrogen is usually in short supply in most ecosystems, so many manufactured fertilizers contain some form of nitrogen. Nitrogen cycling is assisted by certain plants, like legumes. They can fix nitrogen in the soil. Phosphorous is one of the most essential elements because it helps create the cellular structure for living things.

Soil Fertility

Factors: • Aeration • Moisture • pH • Nutrient profile Soil fertility refers to the ability of the soil to be productive. Soil type contributes to fertility through moisture content, aeration, and PH. Clay soils tend to retain nutrients at a greater rate than sandy soils. However, clay soils can be impermeable and waterlogged. Soil is built from weathered bedrock and organic material. Productive soil takes centuries to develop.

Services from forests

Forests provide all services • Provisioning • Regulating • Supporting • Cultural Forests provide many essential ecosystem services. Forests have a very low albedo, so they absorb a tremendous amount of incoming solar radiation. They are incredible sinks for carbon dioxide. As a significant part of the hydrologic cycle, leaves intercept precipitation, allowing water to move slowly down the branches to infiltrate into the soil. Vegetation anchors soil, preventing soil erosion and flooding. Then the trees move the water back into the atmosphere through the process of transpiration.

Environment impacts

Fossil fuel production creates many environmental impacts. Oil shale and tar sands require a large amount of water that can disrupt water supplies. Fracking has potentially increased minor earthquakes nearby its production areas. Many mountains have been removed through mountaintop mining. Tailings are the debris from mining, and these are often dumped in piles near the mines. Tailings are the point-source for acid mine drainage, where water leaches lead, arsenic, and cadmium from the waste and washes the toxic materials into local waterways.

Geothermal Energy

Geothermal power plants use hydrothermal resources. Hydro means water, and thermal means temperature. Water underground is heated in vents from the heat of the earth's core. Geothermal plants require water temperatures between 300-700 degrees Fahrenheit. The heated water creates steam, which powers a turbine to generate electricity. Even through Iceland uses geothermal energy as it's main energy supply, the United States generates the most geothermal electricity in the world. The majority of geothermal energy in the United States comes from California. There is almost no direct impact on the environment from geothermal energy, other than the production of the plant itself.

Sustainable Development

Goal 11 of the 17 UN goals is to make cities inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable. The pillars of sustainable development are social, environmental, and economic. Quality of life, energy consumption, green spaces, and economic health are among the considerations of sustainable development. According to the World Economic Forum, the most sustainable cities include Zurich, Singapore, and Stockholm. From their assessment, smaller governments can achieve more sustainable policies. Leaders need to have a vision of sustainability and the ability to bring their vision to fruition. Innovation and vision are often the more important factors when implementing sustainable policies.

Other impacts from the UHI

Hotter surfaces put more heat into the urban system. That causes an increase in energy used to cool structures. In the United States, the average homes' air conditioning is 12% of their total energy usual. In Arizona, air conditioning is 43% of the total energy usage. That means energy plants must increase their output in the summer, which increases air pollutants of carbon dioxide and volatile organic compounds in the atmosphere. There are real implications to water and energy management, agriculture, and urban planning.

Agricultural ecosystems

Humans comprise not even 1% of the earth's total biomass, but they use over 30% of the biomass for food and shelter. Around 40% of all land surfaces are used for agriculture. That includes land used for livestock as well as crops.. The land is not equally distributed. Some countries have more like the United States while others have less like Ecuador.

Hydrocarbons

Hydrocarbons are organic compounds of carbon and hydrogen. For example, the natural gas methane is CH4. One atom of carbon is bonded to 4 atoms of hydrogen. Hydrocarbons are the main ingredients in coal, crude oil, and natural gas. When hydrocarbons combust, they minimally produce carbon dioxide, water and heat. The heat is used as the energy supply.

Hydropower

Hydropower is one of the oldest sources of energy. Hydroelectric plants use water to turn a turbine to generate electricity, so a hydropower plant needs to be located adjacent to a water source like a lake, river, or ocean. The more water available and the steeper the slope, the more energy in the water. More than half of the hydroelectric power generated in the United States comes from Washington state, Oregon, and California. The Grand Coulee Dam along the Columbia River is the largest hydroelectric plant in the United States. Hydropower structures have an immediate and often long-lasting impact on the environment. Dams installed on rivers create thermal pollution by stratifying temperature profiles behind the dam. They also obstruct normal migration patterns, like when salmon return to spawn in upstream rivers. Fish ladders are installed to assist the fish through the dam system, but has other impacts.

Wildland fire

In 1910, the United States enacted a policy that every wildfire would be suppressed by 10AM the same day it was spotted. This policy led to tremendously overgrown forests that now burn too rapidly and too hot, causing out of control wildfires. Fire is an essential part of certain ecosystems, and suppressing fire disrupts the normal ecosystem processes. Ecologically sustainable forest management maintains a mix of forest trees, by age and species. Harvesting trees and thinning forests conserves forests for long-term use, sustains biological diversity and habitats, protects watersheds, reduces erosion, and maintains wildlife habitat corridors.

Yucca Mountain

In fact, no countries have developed long-term storage facilities for high-level nuclear waste. In the 1980s, the United States developed a plan to store waste at Yucca Mountain in Nevada. It was approved by Congress in 2002, with a proposed opening date of 2017. In 2009, President Obama withdrew support for the site, after billions had been spent on exploratory and feasibility studies trying to determine the longterm safety of the location. Opponents to the site were most concerned about environmental impacts, including what might happen in the transportation of radioactive waste from the over 60 operating nuclear plants in the United States.

Oil spills

In spite of the BP oil spill tragedy in the Gulf of Mexico, it wasn't the largest spill on record. When Saddam Hussein set fire to over 600 Kuwaiti oil wells during the Persian Gulf War, millions of barrels of crude were deliberately dumped into the Persian Gulf. The fires were started in January and February 1991, and the last well was capped in November 1991. The fires and spills polluted the air, soil, and water.

Nutrient Cycling

Loss factors: • Soil disruption • Irrigation • Monocultures • Irrigation Agricultural systems require nutrient cycling for growth and productivity. Nutrient losses are impacted by harvest, soil disruption, irrigation, and monocultures. Nutrients stored in the cellular structure of plants and animals are removed during harvest. Farmers then apply fertilizers to replenish nitrogen and phosphorous losses. Tilling fields makes them more susceptible to soil erosion. Irrigation can leach nutrients in the soil profile, depositing them in aquifers. That impacts the groundwater. Monocultures refer to the low biodiversity of most industrialized fields. Water use is not as efficient in monocultures.

Sustainable harvests

Many timber companies claim that their practices are sustainable. The Forest Stewardship Council has some of the more rigorous requirements to certify sustainability. Companies wishing to be certified must comply with their ten principles. These include restoring and conserving forests, respecting the rights of indigenous people, and maintain and enhance social and economic conditions of workers and local communities.

Uranium ores

Most nuclear reactors are fueled by uranium. Uranium is capable of fission in a type of chain reaction. This produces a massive amount of heat energy. Uranium is relatively abundant in the earth's crust. It's mostly found in igneous rocks because partially melted earth materials concentrate uranium in the rocks. Uranium deposits are often found near sandstone. Large uranium deposits are found in Canada, Australia, Kazakhstan, Russia, and South Africa. Canada and Kazakhstan account for nearly half of the world's uranium ore. The ore must be processed before it can be used in a nuclear reactor. Processed uranium is called yellowcake. Yellowcake is 70- 90% concentrated uranium.

Locations

Natural gas has recently helped the United States economy as the US became the world's largest producer of natural gas. In fact, when we compare the maps and projections of crude oil and natural gas from one hundred years ago, it was thought we only had a 50-year supply. In the 1960s and 70s when the deposits were mapped in the Middle East, there was a 300-year supply projected. There are new pathways to natural gas, and deposits of crude and gas that were once not accessible or available now are. Innovation has helped extend the supply, but the resource is still finite and not readily available where it is needed.

Access

Nearly 90% of the world uses a basic service to improve the quality of their drinking water. A basic service does not address the water quality. It only refers to access to a water supply within a 30 minute round trip walking time. When people spend less time acquiring water, they can be productive in other ways.

Nuclear energy

Nuclear energy is generated in the same way as many other electrical plants. Fission is where atoms are split apart, which is different from fusion. Fusion is what happens in the sun, where hydrogen atoms are fused to generate heat energy. All nuclear energy in the United States is used to create electricity.

Tidal Energy

Other types of hydroelectric plants harness tidal action in the oceans. The energy is captured to turn turbines which generate electricity. There are currently six tidal power plants worldwide. South Korea has two, one of which is the largest in the world. Canada, France, China, and Russia all each have one.

Pathogens

Over 2 billion people use a water source contaminated with feces. The majority of these people are in low and middle income countries. Contaminated water transmits disease, like cholera, dysentery, and diarrhea. Diarrhea is the leading cause of death globally for children under 5. While those numbers have been improving, it's estimated that over 800,000 deaths can be prevented each year through safe drinking water and sanitation.

Urban Land Use

Population growth patterns are causing urban sprawl in metropolitan regions. A metropolitan region is the city and surrounding communities that interact socially and economically. For example, the Los Angeles metropolitan region extends from downtown LA to Palm Desert on the edge of the Mojave Desert. Urban sprawl consumes more land. Consequently, transportation is inefficient, as is energy consumption. Air quality decreases as more ozone is created and more greenhouse gases are released. Habitat becomes fragmented, which leads to a loss of biodiversity.

Age Structure, Continue...

Population pyramids can be scaled to see population distributions for settlements or regions. The pyramid for Christian County Kentucky shows a large number of males aged 20-24. That's due to the military installation in that county. Ouray County in Colorado has pull factors for retirement aged population. Salt Lake City shows a positive net migration in the ages where young people are establishing careers. If the country has a higher percentage of young people, like Niger or Ethiopia, then the population will grow as these children reach reproductive age. This structure represents Stage 1 of the demographic transition model. - Stage 2 also has an increasing growth rate, but the sides of the pyramid are straight, showing overall higher birth rates and declining death rates. - A stage 3 country like the United States or Morocco will look like a column, where the pre-reproductive population is about equal to the reproductive population. Stage 4 shows a decline in growth where the younger population is smaller than the reproductive population, like in Australia. Possible consequences to Stage 4 countries are predominantly economic. Without enough young people to contribute economically, financial support for the aging population decreases. If there aren't enough females reaching reproductive age, like in Japan, the family structure breaks down. That drives a societal change because Japanese families usually provide the only support for their elderly.

Sinkholes and saltwater intrusion

Sinkholes form when the surface collapses into a void space underground. As groundwater is mined, void space can form. Saltwater intrusion can happen in aquifers close to marine environments. As groundwater is overdrawn, saltwater can be drawn into the aquifer.

Photovoltaic

Solar energy systems are clean energy sources because they don't emit any greenhouse gases. However, there are many limitations to using solar systems. The system will still work during cloudy days, but productivity will decrease. The system does not generate electricity at night. Another detraction is that the cost per kilowatt hour of solar energy is twice to three times as expensive as fossil fuel energy or any other type of energy. This makes solar energy cost prohibitive. Solar energy is generated in a photovoltaic cell.

Currents

Surface currents are driven by global winds. Once motion is initiated in the upper depths of the basin, the current is deflected north or south as the water interacts with land. Some of the wind's energy is transferred down in the water column in a spiral, called an Ekman spiral. Currents on the east coasts of continents are generally warm, transferring heat poleward from the equator. Currents on the west coasts of continents are generally cold, bringing cooled water from the poles. These currents interact in a large circulation called a gyre.

Rivers

The Amazon watershed is the largest river system in the world. Since there's a large amount of water available for a population of about 28 million, pressures on the basin are fairly low. Agriculture accounts for about 55% of water usage. Soybean crops and livestock are the main agricultural products in the region. Cities process and distribute water by local water companies. Rural locations generally withdraw water directly from the river or from shallow wells. The potential for hydropower is still not exploited, although Brazil plans to construct a series of hydroelectric dams for a possible 50% energy supply. Water pollution results from dumping, pesticides, mining drainage, and wastewater.

World Heritage Sites

The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, or UNESCO, is charged to preserve significant cultural and natural lands. There are almost 1100 properties in nearly 170 countries. The United States has 23 World Heritage sites. Over 50 locations globally are considered threatened by serious and specific dangers, like deterioration, armed conflict, or natural hazards. The purpose of UNESCO world heritage sites is to legally protect and conserve these locations as enacted by a formal international treaty.

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Transforming our World

The United Nations unanimously adopted a resolution in 2015 based on the TBL.

Urban Heat Island

The Urban Heat Island is another type of problem found in cities. Research shows that this issue affects all urbanized locations, and the larger the city, the stronger the impact. What happens is that the city core becomes much warmer than the surrounding countryside because the urban materials like cement and concrete store heat energy during the day and then release it very slowly at night. This makes the nighttime or minimum temperatures warmer than they would be in a natural landscape. The Phoenix Urban Heat Island is one of the strongest in the world, with nighttime temperatures in Phoenix up to 15 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than Queen Creek or Wickenburg.

Changing supply

The current structure of human society has developed and grown and succeeded because of energy consumption. Six hundred years ago, whale oil was used as the main fuels source for lamps and candles. It was used because it was long-lasting and clean-burning. Whale oil was one of the New World's earliest exports, and was a huge component of industry for 250 years, until kerosene was invented. The invention of kerosene in 1849 is credited with saving the whale populations that were on the verge of being hunted to extinction. Kerosene was cheaper and prevalent, and contributed to the economic explosion of the industrial age. The movement to coal from wood saved the large forests in North America and Europe.

Agrifood chain

The energy needed to sustain domesticated animals depends on a variety of factors, like quality of food and activity level. Different species also require different amounts of energy input. Water also contributes to food production. Different species require different amounts of water. Food production and therefore security is inextricably linked to water and energy. The water footprint and the energy footprint contribute to the overall ecological footprint of food production. The food supply chain is called an agrifood chain.

National Academy of Sciences Report

The first time the scientific community was able to make some connections between extreme weather events and climate change came in the 2016 National Academy of Science Report. Since warmer atmospheres can evaporate more water, it makes sense to see some trends on floods and drought. Heatwaves also seem to be increasing in magnitude and duration. However, there are no connections between climate change and tornadoes, hurricanes, and wildfires. Tornadoes and hurricanes have been decreasing in the last decade or so. What may be happening is while there might be fewer hurricanes, the ones that do occur may be more extreme. Wildfires are more often impacted by poor land management.

Hydrologic cycle

The hydrologic cycle simply shows the storage locations and transfer mechanisms of the waters in the earth-atmosphere system. Water vapor is the largest greenhouse gas by volume in the atmosphere, and it gets into the atmosphere through the process of evaporation. Transpiration is the loss of water in vapor form from plants, and evapotranspiration is the combined loss from plants and land surfaces.

Pessimistic vs. Optimistic, Continue...

The optimistic view is called the somewhat derogatory term Cornucopia. It's a futurist view. It's based on the work of Ester Boserup. In the 1960s, Boserup countered the work of Malthus. She wrote that the power of ingenuity would always outmatch demand. Julian Simon is an economist that promotes this optimistic futurist view. Most economic institutions hold this view. It's anthropocentric because people are the source of new technologies and innovative solutions. The optimistic futurist view sees people as saving the world. The pessimistic neo-Malthusian view sees people as the destruction of the world.

Deep Conveyor

The thermohaline conveyor is caused by changes in temperature and salinity. In cold locations with large amounts of dissolved salts, the increased density causes a downward motion in that column. This occurs in the North Atlantic, initiating a circulation called the North Atlantic Deep Water. The North Atlantic Deep Water moves along the bottom of the ocean, heading south to Antarctica. The thermohaline conveyor is an essential part of the earth-atmosphere system. Huge climate shifts in geologic time are related to changes in the thermohaline circulation.

Material Flows

Urban locations are centers of resource production and consumption. Raw materials are transported into cities for manufacture, then transported within and outside the city for consumption. Consumed materials create waste. The United States produces the largest amount of annual solid waste per urban dweller. 90% of that waste ends up in landfills. Only about 9% of the waste is diverted to a recycling stream. Many EU countries divert less to landfills and more to recycling or incineration. Plastic bags can be burned to produce electricity if diverted to that stream.

Wind Energy

Wind electrical generation has increased exponentially in the last 20 years. Like a pinwheel, wind moves the blades, which turns the turbine, generating electricity. In order for the wind farm to be profitable, the wind needs to blow fast enough in the same direction for most of the day. Some locations are more suited to these conditions than others. There are consequences with this energy source, too. Migrating birds tend to use these same wind fields, and are often killed in the blades. Aesthetics also prevents the installation of these huge towers.

Urban Transportation

Worldwide, cities are becoming more dependent on automobiles. Cars are becoming more available to lesser developed communities. The availability of automobiles is a factor in sprawling development. In the US more than 80% of all trips are done by car. In Europe, 45% of all trips are done by car. To decrease auto use, urban planners try to facilitate walking and other alternative forms of transportation. Walking trails and bike lanes encourage those activities and provide a measure of safety for participants.

What is natural capital?

a value that's placed on materials from nature

David Harey definition of natural resource

being a technical and social appraisal.

Another definition for natural resource

industrial materials and capacities supplied by nature, like mineral deposits and waterpower.

Industrialized Agriculture

• 10% of all farms • 20-30% of all food production There fewer farms now but the average farm is three times larger. Industrialized agriculture can contribute to other problems, such as monocultures, soil degradation, and water contamination from fertilizers. For all the benefits, there are unintended consequences from industrialized agriculture. When more cattle or chickens are raised in smaller pens, ranchers supply low-grade antibiotics to prevent the spread of illness. Additionally, to increase yield, ranchers supplement hormones. No one is sure of the downstream impacts in our food supply. There is also concern about converting agriculture fields from food production to biofuel production. This decreases the global food supply. Larger yields mean a greater impact on energy and water supplies. There are consequences to land and soil from the increased use of pesticides and fertilizers.

Early to modern environmental movement

• 1962 Carson: Silent Spring • 1968 Ehrlich: Population Bomb • 1997 Costanza: The Value of the World's Ecosystem Services and Natural Capital Rachel Carson's book Silent Spring in 1962 was soon followed by Paul Ehrlich's book the Population Bomb in 1968. These, along with a widening understanding that resources weren't always infinite, led to the modern environmental movement. In 1997, Robert Costanza and others quantified the world's ecosystem services. This commodified nature, providing context for economic markets to better understand the modern role of nature in the world's economy. Costanza found that the world's ecosystem services far exceeded the world's Gross Domestic Product or GDP. The GDP is the total of goods and services produced in one year.

Heat Waves

• 1995 Chicago heat wave • 465 deaths July 11-27 Nearly 500 people lost their lives within a 2-week period as high heat and high humidity settled on Chicago in 1995. Most healthy people can usually withstand one extreme day. However, even healthy people will start to succumb on day two and beyond. That's why a heat wave is considered to occur if there are 2 or more days of extreme temperatures. The heat index shows what the temperature feels like based on air temperature and relative humidity. With higher humidities, the body can't evaporatively cool itself through sweating. On July 13, at an extreme temperature of 106°F and RH of 38%, the apparent temperature in Chicago was 124°F.

Land use

• 40% of land in US owned by governments: • State, tribal, federal • Government lands are designated for multiple services Almost 40% of land in the United States is owned by state or tribal governments or the federal government. Four agencies are charged with federal land management. The Bureau of Land Management, Fish and Wildlife Services, and National Park Services are administered by the Department of the Interior, and the US Forest Service is administered by the Department of Agriculture. The governmental lands are designated for multiple services. Sometimes, the government will own lands in a floodplain to prevent people from living in harmful locations. Some lands are designated for recreation, and some lands are designated for grazing, mining, or logging.

OPEC

• 75% crude oil preserves • 45% crude oil production OPEC is the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. They control almost 75% of the crude oil preserves and produce over 40% of the world's crude oil. OPEC manages the flow of crude oil production in its member countries. Due to the uncertain nature of the supply and demand, crude oil is traded on the future market. That means that buyers and sellers try to anticipate future impacts to the supply and demand and set their price points accordingly

Risk

• A balancing act between the probability that the event will occur and the consequences of that event The concept of risk is simply a balancing act between the probability that the event will occur and the consequences of that event. Uncertainty is expressed as a probability function. It's the likelihood that an extreme event of a given size will occur at a given place within a specified time period. Probabilities are based on past events, so the more information available about historical events, the better the probability estimation of future events.

Petroleum products

• A general range of processed products produced from crude oil • Gasoline • Jet fuel • Diesel After crude oil is extracted, it's sent to a refinery where diesel, jet fuel, gasoline, kerosene, propane, and other products like petroleum jelly are extracted. Gasoline is the main petroleum product. The United States, China, and Japan are the top three petroleum consumers. One of the byproducts of petroleum usage is sulfur. Sweet crude oil has smaller amounts of sulfur, and sour crude has larger amounts. Light crude oil is less viscous. Viscosity is a measure of resistance to flow, so material that is less viscous flows easily, like water. Heavy crude oil is more viscous, like honey. Chemical composition and overall temperature affect the viscosity of crude oil.

Other Issues: Global Winds

• Acid deposition develops when sulfur and nitrogen oxides are released by fossil fuel burning • Wind carries pollutants that react with water in atmosphere to produce sulfuric and nitric acids • Acids are precipitated as rain, sleet, fog, snow or as dry particles • Causes damage to plants, kills trees, corrodes metals and statues (many of historic value) The Black Forest in Germany has had some of the greatest impacts from acid rain, with some estimates finding that up to 50% of the old forest had been affected. And when trees are stressed, they become susceptible to infestation and wildfire. Acid precipitation occurs when sulfur and nitrogen oxides are emitted into the atmosphere from natural sources like volcanoes and human sources like from coal plants. The acid precipitation in Germany has decreased since the 1980s and the forest has improved. Part of that improvement has happened because Germany dumps 200,000 tons of limestone annually in the forests. The limestone is alkaline, so it helps neutralize the acidity in the vegetation and soil.

Montreal Protocol

• Adopted 1987 • Banned CFCs to mitigate depletion of stratospheric ozone The ozone layer in the stratosphere was being depleted in the 1960s and 70s through the use of gases like chloroflourocarbon or CFCs. The gases were used as propellants in canned items, like hair spray. Every spray released CFCs into the atmosphere, where they accumulated. The CFCs accelerated the destruction of ozone. However, the world united and agreed to phase out CFCs by formally adopting the Montreal Protocol in 1987.

Industrial Revolution

• Advent of industrialized technologies • Human impact grew exponentially • Transcendentalist influence The Enlightenment beginning in the late 1600s helped bring the Industrial Revolution to its zenith in the 1800s. Man harnessed machine to the supposed betterment of mankind. Urban industrial centers increased as industrialization increased. Larger machines had larger impacts on the land. Fewer people had contact with nature. This led to a direct shift in thinking among transcendental philosophers like Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau and Walt Whitman. They wrote of the tragic loss of the connection to nature.

Anthropogenic Impacts

• Agriculture • Wind farms • Urbanization Humans can influence temperature and precipitation. Agriculture modifies soil and drainage, as well as water. Some crops like corn can transpire thousands of gallons of water back into the atmosphere every day. Urbanization can bring profound changes to the energy balance. The urban heat island is an example of anthropogenic climate change. Some cites like Atlanta have been shown to disrupt precipitation and force more precipitation downstream from the city. In addition to other impacts, wind farms can disrupt air flow and create false precipitation signals on doppler radar.

History of agriculture

• Agriculture: domestication of plants and animals as food resources Agriculture is the domestication of plants and animals used as food resources. The first cereal grains like wheat and barley were domesticated over 9000 years ago in ancient Mesopotamia. This region is called the Fertile Crescent and is where the modern countries of Iraq, Turkey, and Jordan are now situated. Around the same time, rice was cultivated in Asia. Potatoes were cultivated in the Andes over 5000 years ago while maize was domesticated in what is now central Mexico. Most cultural hearth civilizations cultivated both a grain and a legume, like beans and rice. Both materials provide essential nutrients for human health. Animals like sheep and goats were domesticated over 12000 years ago.

Pre-Industrial

• Animism • Western religions • Eastern religions Cultural beliefs and norms guided a lot of the early relationships with nature. -Animism is the belief that living and non-living things contain a spirit. For example, the Navajo have many sacred locations in Arizona. The development of monotheistic religions placed humanity in an anthropocentric view, where man is given stewardship of nature. Eastern religions developed a more biocentric view holding people at the same level as nature.

Environmental ethics

• Anthropocentric • Biocentric • Ecocentric When value is the outcome, who determines what to value and how much value to assign? Environmental ethicists attempt to understand the valuation of nature. Broadly, intrinsic value means there will be value, regardless of who's judging or of perceived usefulness. The concept of intrinsic value helps categorize overarching yet somewhat stereotypical worldviews. Those worldviews are anthropocentric, biocentric, and ecocentric. In reality, people don't typically adhere to just one of these worldviews. These are examples demonstrate extreme thresholds of thought.

Sedimentary Rocks

• Any rock formed by lithification • Lithification: the compaction and cementation of sediments Sedimentary rocks form from other sediments, like sand. Sand that lithifies creates sandstone. Lithification is the compaction and cementation of sediments. Calcium carbonate acts like cement binding the sediments. Calcium carbonate is ubiquitous and has many economic uses. It often forms naturally through evaporation. These types of sedimentary rocks are called evaporites. Limestone is an evaporite of pure calcium carbonate. Travertine is also calcium carbonate, but travertine forms in caves from deposits. Each of these sedimentary rocks are economically useful.

Igneous Rocks

• Any rock formed from the cooling and crystallization of magma or lava Intrusive: cools below surface Extrusive: cools above surface Igneous rocks form from molten material that has cooled and crystallized. The rocks are categorized based on their silica content. Silica is quartz. The mineral compound for quartz is SiO2 for the elements silicon and oxygen. Igneous rocks that contain more quartz are called felsic igneous rocks. Many igneous rocks like granite and pumice are used in construction and building.

Metamorphic Rocks

• Any rock that has been altered by intense heat and/or pressure Metamorphic rocks typically have a high economic value because they can contain or signify where high concentrations of economically valuable materials are located. Metamorphic rocks are also quite hardened. They resist breakdown, so they are used frequently in construction and landscape design. Metamorphic rocks come from other rocks that have been transformed by heat or pressure or both. They form underground, but can be brought to the surface through tectonic activity. Valuable metamorphic rocks include marble and slate.

Death Rate

• As economic development increases, death rate decreases Death rates are also influenced by the economic development of a country. As birth rates, global death rates have also decreased in the past 50 years. In fact, that's why global population is still increasing. It's not from high birth rates. Global population is increasing because people can access better sanitation, nutrition, improved water quality, and medical care. This has increased their life span. In most of the world, women living beyond age 40 exceeds the number of men living beyond 40. Wealth again plays a role where more developed countries have a longer life expectancy than lesser developed countries.

Cultural Expectations

• As female literacy increases, birth rate decreases Different cultures dictate behavior and gender roles that can then affect things like education, employment, and fertility rates. Some cultures place a higher value on male children, so women with many sons achieve a higher status, This contributes to higher total fertility rates in those cultures. A woman's age at marriage and her education level also affects Total Fertility Rates. Women who marry are usually more likely to bear children, and the earlier a woman marries, the more children she is likely to have. There is also a correlation with female literacy. Statistically, women with higher education levels marry later in life and have fewer children. Culture affects the valuation of women and girls in a society. Millions of girls worldwide are denied a primary education, and this creates cascading effects in employment, marriage, and fertility.

Dead zone

• BOD: biological oxygen demand Excessive algae and plant matter can also affect the oxygen supply in the water. The biochemical oxygen demand, or BOD, is the amount of oxygen used by organisms in the breakdown of waste. Excessive plants and algae create high BOD, which then depletes the dissolved oxygen in a waterway. The dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico is one example of how eutrophication can disrupt an ecosystem. The dead zone is an area of hypoxia, or depleted dissolved oxygen, created by fertilizer runoff from farms within the Mississippi River watershed.

Causal loops

• Balancing loop stops a change • Reinforcing loop increases a change - Systems maintain stability through feedback loops. - A balancing feedback reverses or stops a change. - A reinforcing feedback accelerates a change.

Aquaculture

• Breeding and harvesting • Majority of fish consumed now come from aquaculture Aquaculture is the breeding and harvesting of aquatic organisms. They can be freshwater or marine. Many marine species farmed in aquaculture include mussels, clams, salmon, and bass. Animals raised in this setting can be diverted to the human food supply or they could also be used to replenish wild stock.

Issues

• Bycatch Most fisheries are only interested in specific types of fish, like tuna or cod. A purse seine net captures everything in the area. Sea turtles are at risk, as are dolphins. Dolphins are often used as a cue in finding large schools. The dolphins then unintentionally became part of the harvest. In US fisheries, dolphin and humpback whale are most commonly captured as bycatch in purse seine nets. Overfishing is regulated by individual countries. Each country sets limits to their annual catch amounts. In the United States, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration measures stock in the fishing grounds to try and evaluate any overfishing. Starting in 2014, the world has consumed more farmed fish than wildcaught fish.

Enhanced Greenhouse Effect

• CO2 has increased from 288ppm 200 years ago to 400ppm in 2013 • Burning fossil fuels accounts for >70% of CO2 increase Carbon dioxide has been increasing since direct observations began in 1958. In 2013, 400 ppm of carbon dioxide was measured at the Mauna Loa weather station for the first time. This equates to 0.04% of the total atmosphere. It's important to understand that there's more to climate and climate change than just the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

Market solutions

• Can be punitive or incentive • Green taxes: offset impact to environment All governments to some extent modify or regulate their markets. This can be done through a taxing structure. For example, New York City has a punitive tax designed to limit the consumption of sweetened carbonated beverages. Taxing can also be a reward or incentive if offered as a tax break or credit. Arizona offered a tax credit for the installation of solar panels. A environmental or green tax is intended to offset the impact to the environment. It would be levied on raw materials, like coal. It's designed to decrease consumption. A green tax intends to cover the actual costs to the ecosystem, not just the basic cost of the resource.

Types and Sources of Air Pollution

• Certain gases and particulates • Natural and/or anthropogenic • Two main categories of air pollutants • Primary pollutants enter atmosphere directly • Carbon oxides, particulate matter • Secondary air pollutants form from reactions of primary pollutants • Ozone Air pollution is a generic term describing poor air quality. There are many types of pollutants, so there are many different sources of pollutants. Some pollutants are anthropogenically sourced, like nitrous oxides, and some are naturally sourced, like methane released from digestive processes. Primary pollutants come directly from a source. The source of dust for Arizona dust storms is the desert. Secondary air pollutants are the result of some other reaction, like the production of ozone at the surface. There are many consequences to poor air quality, ranging from poor visibility to respiratory irritation to acid deposition.

Harvesting

• Clear-cutting is most damaging but most cost effective Clear-cutting a forest is the most environmentally damaging but the most cost effective for the lumber company. More sustainable techniques are selective and shelterwood cutting. Selective cutting harvest mature trees individually, leaving the rest of the forest intact. Shelterwood cutting removes all mature trees as well as any undesirable trees from an area. Selective and shelterwood techniques are usually more time intensive and costly for the lumber company.

Supply and demand

• Commodity: basic resource that can be bought and sold • Smith: limited supply causes higher demand and increases cost In 1776, Adam Smith described the basic principles motivating production and consumption in his book The Wealth of Nations. Essentially, when a commodity is in short supply, it's price increases. As profit increases for that commodity, it incentivizes others to participate in the production of that commodity. However, if the resource is limited in quantity or accessibility, the demand remains higher than the supply. Smith argued that limited supplies would increase the cost of natural resources.

Confined aquifers

• Confined aquifers have restricted recharge Confined aquifers have impermeable layers above and below the aquifer, which confines the water. Impermeable layers are usually high in clay, such as shale or slate. This restricts the recharge area, meaning that it must rain over the exact location where water can move into the aquifer to recharge. Water from confined aquifers is called artesian water, and is usually much more expensive than regular groundwater. However, water in artesian wells is easy to mine because the groundwater is usually under high pressure.

Biomagnification

• Controlled by trophic level Any lead or mercury ingested remains in that organism through its life. When fish ingest mercury it may not harm that fish. However, the next consumer on the food chain then ingests the mercury in the fish. Biomagnification refers to the higher concentrations of heavy metals in animals that are at a higher tropic level on the food chain. EPA cautions pregnant women from consuming too much fish during their pregnancy.

International Water Law

• Convention on the Non-navigational Uses of International Watercourses International law is needed when bodies of water act as borders between countries. Countries establish treaties to regulate the allocation and appropriate use of the water. In 1997, the United Nations established a framework for international water usage, conservation, and management. The general principles established by the doctrine require equitable and reasonable allocation, no significant harm done to the water, and that countries must notify each other about usage. This framework has not yet been ratified and is not official international law.

Mitigation

• Cool roofs • Porous pavements • Urban forestry Mitigation techniques are an active area of research. Some planners install greenbelts or artificial lakes within the urban area. Desert cities must consider the use of water in their overall design. Greenbelts, bodies of water, and increased urban forestation result in different microclimates that typically only extend a few meters from their installation. However, shade trees provide many benefits to the urban ecosystem beyond energy balance implications. Changing albedos is a more active application. If the energy is never stored in the urban structures, then there is no direct impact to the heat load in that structure. There are many ideas that have different consequences.

The Bet

• Copper, chromium, tin, tungsten, nickel • Prices decreased Simon and Ehrlich made a bet in 1980. Ehrlich's side was that resources would become more consumed, rare, and so more expensive. Simon's side was the price of the materials would decrease due to innovation. Ehrlich chose the 5 resources. He selected copper, chromium, tin, tungsten, and nickel. The bet ended 10 years later in 1990. Simon won the bet because the resources decreased in price, even adjusted for inflation. Prices decreased because cheaper materials like plastics and ceramics replaced the natural resources. Technology won the bet. However, if the bet had taken place in a different time frame, then Ehrlich would have won. This doesn't mean one view is right or wrong. What it means is that our world is still grappling with these problems. What it means is that you'll determine how best to manage natural resources.

Chain reaction

• Could generate a meltdown in the nuclear core reactor • Radioactive particles could disperse into atmosphere, water bodies, or soil The reactions that occur in the reactor core are controlled events. When an uncontrolled reaction occurs, it could cause a chain reaction meltdown in the plant. If this were to happen, radioactive particles could leach into the ocean, groundwater, or the atmosphere. The risk at US plants is considered to be quite low, however, other global plants have had issues.

Mining

• Deposits are extracted and processed • Creates waste that must be disposed • Costs: time, capital, resources The extraction, processing, and disposal of minerals costs time, money and resources. Surface mining is more common because it is often less expensive. It's also safer for the miners. However, it's usually more disruptive to the environment. More than two thirds of minerals and ores are mined in this manner. T here are several surface mining techniques. The most common is the open-pit. It's used for near surface deposits of rock, usually for building. Open-pit is usually safe and cost-effective, but can disrupt the water table as the pit is dug deeper.

Food Footprint

• Developed countries: food consumption 25% of ecological footprint An ecological footprint can be scaled to identify the ecological impact from food. Approximately 25% of developed country ecological footprints is built from food consumption. Historically, diets were sourced near homes and seasonally based on crop productivity. Now most middle and well developed economies are able to import food from different hemispheres. Additionally, as locations become more affluent and urbanized, meat and fish consumption increases.

Developing and tropical forests

• Developing and tropical forests: woodlands used for agriculture and industry In developing countries, and especially those countries with tropical climates, woodlands are being consumed for agriculture and industry. Tropical climates have very nutrient poor soil. In addition to clearing trees for agriculture, the trees are burned to provide nutrients for crops. Unfortunately, the nutrients are quickly depleted, leaving bare land.

Indoor Air Pollution

• Developing countries use solid fuels (wood, animal dung) to cook indoors with poor or no ventilation • WHO estimates 1.6 million die annually from indoor cooking smoke • Developed countries suffer from radon, cigarette smoke, asbestos and chemicals used to process rugs and fabric • Millions of employees are exposed to sick building syndrome, health effects associated with indoor air pollution About 2.8 billion people in developing countries use solid fuels like wood and animal dung as their primary energy source. Upwards of 4 million premature deaths happen every year because of the poor air quality in homes. If these people can gain access to a clean source of energy, the health benefits would be immense. In developed countries, other pollutants are problematic, like the formaldehyde found in many house materials, or asbestos that can be released into the atmosphere from a house fire.

Invasive Species

• Disrupt ecosystems because they usually have no natural predator Invasive species are one of the most insidious problems. Some species were introduced by humans to help eliminate pests or assist other processes. For example, cane toads were introduced in Australia to eat the grubs killing their sugar canes. Unfortunately, the grubs and the toads habits did not coincide, and the toads never ate the grubs. What did happen is that the toads multiplied exponentially, quickly becoming an apex predator. In fact, the toads exude poison and kill snakes and mammals that would normally prey on toads. Invasive species quickly and violently disrupt a native ecosystems because they usually don't have any natural predators or competition in that invaded ecosystem.

Global Climate Change

• Earth's average temperature has increased 0.8°C since 1850 Since the modern instrumentation period, global temperatures have increased 0.8 degrees Celsius. This isn't disputed in the scientific community. What is actively discussed is understanding the mechanisms involved, the causes, and the impacts. Since we don't fully understand the mechanisms and impacts, there's still much to investigate and understand about climate change.

Temperature Changes With Latitude and Season

• Earth's axis is tilted 23.5 degrees • Tilt controls latitude receiving most incoming sunlight • Higher latitudes (toward the poles) • Light hits more indirectly • Spreads over larger area Seasons are caused by the tilt of the earth's axis of rotation, which is an imaginary line that connects the north and south poles. The axis is tilted at 23.5 degrees relative to the earth's orbital path. The tilt remains constant, and the north pole always points at the north star, Polaris. The constant tilt controls which latitudes get 90° sun angles. A latitude with a 90° sun angle gets more radiation. That location will get hotter than other latitudes.

Economic systems

• Economic system: relationship between production and consumption • Market: determined by producers and consumers • Free market: no government influence An economic system describes the relationship between production and consumption of goods and services. It can affect how people relate to and value the environment. In market economies, producers and consumers are able to determine their arena of interest. A free market economy is one where the government exerts zero influence on the economy. No pure free market economy exists in the world, including the United States. The US government subsidizes many commodities like corn and soy and solar energy.

Economic value

• Economic value: price consumers will pay • Affected by perception, scarcity, difficulty Economic value is the price that consumers are willing to pay. Scarcity or difficulty in obtaining or processing a resource can contribute to the economic value of that resource. If the consumer's perception of the value increases or if the consumer experiences difficulty in obtaining the resource, then the economic value can change. If the consumer needs or wants the resource, then its value increases. If the consumer can't easily obtain the resource, then its value decreases.

Air Pollution in Developing Countries

• Environmental quality is a low priority in race for economic development • Air pollution laws are non-existent or not enforced • Low-quality coal burned for heat and industry in China, blocks out the sun for most of the year • Old technology costs less • Growing number of cars in urban areas that are mostly old and have no pollutioncontrol devices • Lead pollution from leaded gasoline Developing countries often struggle with air quality issues. In India and China, the problems largely stem from the use of coal as the primary energy source. As these countries move to improve their economies, it comes at the cost of using cheap fuel that is burned in largely unregulated plants. Beijing is one if not the most polluted city in the world, and estimates vary between half to a million people dying prematurely every year in China. In that country, the incidence of lung cancer has increased almost 500% in the last 30 years. It shouldn't be forgotten that the global atmospheric winds can then transport pollutants to other parts of the world.

Eutrophication

• Eutrophication leads to hypoxia • Artificial eutrophication is caused by human activity Artificial eutrophication often results from nutrient pollution, especially nitrogen and phosphorus. These materials often enter waterways as runoff from agricultural fertilizers. Nitrogen and phosphorus accelerate the growth of algae and aquatic plants, just like they would on land. With excessive growth of aquatic plants, poor light penetration can further disrupt the biotic community.

The Clean Air Act (CAA)

• First passed in 1970 • Amended 1977 and 1990 • Overall air quality is better • Still many unacceptably high levels • Enforced by the EPA, focus on 6 air pollutants • Lead, particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, and ozone • 98% decrease in lead in atmosphere between 1970 and 2000 because of switch to unleaded gasoline In the 1920s, lead was added to gasoline to decrease the knocking heard in car engines. Lead was also added to paint to make the finish water-resistant and durable. However, lead is toxic when ingested or inhaled in large amounts, and affects the central nervous system in smaller amounts. Lead house paint was banned in the US in 1978, and leaded gas was phased out in 1995. The Clean Air Act has been instrumental in removing toxic materials and saving lives in the United States, and was an important piece of legislation. The EPA was created in 1970 and charged with enforcing the Clean Air Act.

Electricity production

• Fission generates heat, which heats water to create steam Global nuclear energy production Inside a nuclear plant reactor core, a small particle called a neutron hits a uranium atom, making it break apart. The fission that takes place in a nuclear plant generates heat, and that heat is used to create steam, and then the steam turns the turbine, which creates electricity.

Food Distribution

• Food insecurity: lack of nutritious food • Nutritious food: • Sufficient calories and micronutrients The problems with food resources don't stem from food production. It's more a problem with the allocation and quality of those resources. Food insecurity is a lack of nutritious food, which is not always the lack of food itself. Detroit and other cities in the United States are considered to be food deserts because they lack in healthful food options, like farmer's markets or nearby grocery stores. The world's annual grain productivity has increased since the 1970s, and there is adequate food supply to meet the caloric needs of the global population. There are problems with poverty, corruption and instability, economic market swings, and problems in shipping and storing food.

Harvesting fish

• Gill nets • Nets • Hooks and lines • Pots/cages • Purse seine nets Many tools are used to harvest aquatic organisms. Gill nets are designed to capture fish of a certain size. The schools swim through and their gills become entangled. Fish die from hypoxia in gill nets. Unfortunately, sharks and turtles also become entangled. Gill nets can be lost or discarded. The problem of ghost fishing where discarded gill nets entangle fish was such a problem that the United Nations banned drifting gill nets larger than 2.5 kilometers. Pots and cages are used to catch lobster and crab. Nets allow free passage for fish to enter but not exit. Hooks and lines can move at depth over a kilometer with hundreds of embedded hooks. Most fish are caught with purse seine nets. These nets are cast over entire schools of fish, then the bottom of the net is pulled together like a purse. Purse seine results in the greatest amount of bycatch.

Grade

• Grade contributes to the value of the deposit Grade refers to the concentration of metals in the ore. Grade is an important economic consideration and contributes to the value of the deposit. Other economic factors include costs to extract, process, and transport the material and then dispose of any impurities or non-used rock materials. The waste materials that don't have commercial value are called gangue. Extraction considerations include depth of the ore deposit and how much ore overall can be mined.

Trends

• Highly developed countries have the lowest birth and infant mortality rates • Moderately developed countries have higher birth and infant mortality rates than developed countries • Less developed (developing) countries have shortest life expectancies, highest birth and infant mortality rates Population density refers to the number of people per unit, like square miles. Concentrations are based on factors like resource availability, transportation, and development. The difference between a developed country and a lesser or developing country is typically based on population growth rates, industrialization, and affluence. Developing countries have higher population growth rates than developed countries. Highly developed countries typically have low birth rates and low infant mortality rates. Less developed countries typically have high birth rates and high infant mortality rates.

Overgrazing

• If managed correctly, grazing can be beneficial to the grassland ecosystems Carefully managed grazing can actually be beneficial to a grassland ecosystem. Animals will eat the leaves but leave the roots in place, allowing re-growth. Grazing animals can also assist infiltration by slightly disturbing and aerating the soil. However, overgrazing is destructive. Soil degradation can permanently remove the topsoil, leading to desertification. Restoration is possible, but that requires capital and time.

Biocentric

• Intrinsic value: all living things in nature The biocentric worldview sees humans as one species among others. All living things in nature contain intrinsic value, regardless of their perceived usefulness. Some bioethicists argue that the living thing must be self-aware or able to experience pleasure in order to have intrinsic value. Others argue that plants have the same value as other living things.

Ecocentric

• Intrinsic value: ecosystems The concept of ecocentrism is similar to the biocentric worldview. However, the ecocentric worldview focuses on the value of ecosystems. The ecocentric worldview is also called the deep ecology worldview. Broadly speaking, adherents to this worldview are concerned with overpopulation and the use of technology. According to one philosopher, nature doesn't exist just to provide for people's needs. This view runs somewhat counter to the concepts of sustainability. In fact, I'd argue that all these worldviews run counter to sustainability. However, it's interesting to consider how to define those ideas.

How Weather and Topography Affect Air Pollution

• Inversion: cold air traps pollutants at the surface • Can last hours to several days • Certain topographies increase the likelihood of an inversion • Cities in valleys, coastal areas • Los Angeles Basin topography encourages inversions If pollutants like particulate matter are trapped in the troposphere, that can create industrial smog. This type of poor air quality is more common in winter months because the cold air traps the pollutants near the surface. An inversion is when the ground is colder than the air above. Cold air can also move under the force of gravity and settle into lower elevations. With an inversion, the air in the cold layer is not warm enough to rise and move vertically. Essentially, an inversion acts like a cap on the atmosphere, prevents mixing, and traps particulates leading to health issues in some locations.

Ore

• Iron • Aluminum • Silicon • Titanium Metals make up a large portion of the earth's lithosphere. Silicon makes up more then 25% of the earth's crust. Silicon's symbol is Si, It's considered a metalloid, but is the main ingredient in quartz. Aluminum is next by volume, making up roughly 8% of the earth's crust. Iron comprises roughly 5%. Titanium is less than 1% but is still a significant amount overall. The majority of titanium is used as titanium oxide. Titanium oxide is a white pigment used in paints, plastics, and toothpaste. Titanium steel alloys are used in aircraft fabrication. Large titanium deposits are found on most continents, but Canada, Australia, and South Africa produce almost half of the global supply. Silicon is used in a variety of productions and is primarily extracted from quartz. Quartz is used to make glass. Silicons can be made into polymers to make kitchen tools, medical devices, sealants, and even insulation. Finally, silicon is the main material in photovoltaic cells and computer chips. Quartz is found in large amounts on every continent, but China controls nearly 75% of the global silicon production.

Preservation vs. conservation

• John Muir: preservation • Gifford Pinchot: conservation Part of those decisions center on debates on how resources should be valued. John Muir helped found the Sierra Club in 1892 and is known as the Father of National Parks. He advocated the preservation for public lands. Preservation maintains nature in its original, pristine shape. Gifford Pinchot was the first chief of the US Forest Service in 1905. He advocated conservation. Conservation uses and manages public resources in a planned manner for the benefit of humans.

Climate Controls

• Latitude - Most important - Controls seasonal radiation intensity • Land and Water • Ocean Currents • Elevation and Aspect The main temperature control is latitude because latitude is the main control to the global distribution of radiation. Tropical locations receive a surplus of energy, warming the land surfaces, warming the air above the land, causing air to rise. This basic process controls pressure belts and even winds and ocean circulations. The remaining temperature controls depend upon geography. Orography refers to the impacts of mountains, including aspect and elevation. Continentality describes landlocked locations, being far inland away from a moderating body of water, and maritime refers to locations moderated by water. Ocean currents can also affect the temperatures at maritime locations.

Preservation vs. conservation, Continue...

• Leopold: conservation and preservation Aldo Leopold was actually trained in forestry by Pinchot. His first job was managing the Apache National Forest in the Arizona territory in 1909. Leopold founded the discipline of wildland management. He wrote the first management plan for the Grand Canyon. He thought that both conservation and preservation were useful. He wanted to preserve but also manage natural resources in a sustainable manner. He was highly concerned about ecosystems, biodiversity, and unintended consequences from human interaction. These concepts formed the basis for how the United States manages their public lands.

2015 Paris accord

• Limit increases to global temperature • Foster climate resilience The 2015 Paris Accord is an international agreement among 196 countries to limit increases to global temperature. The body also agreed to mitigate or institute adaptation techniques to climate change, as well as foster climate resilience. The main mechanism for the goal is a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. Each country is allowed to set their own regulations and standards in reduction. A recent study found that the pledges made by countries would be inadequate to reach the goal of the accord. There's been concern that there's no mechanism for enforcement or that results would not occur fast enough or big enough.

Estuaries

• Locations where freshwater mixes with the ocean • Water is brackish Estuaries are locations where freshwater mixes with the ocean. This mix of fresh and salty water is called brackish. Usually, estuaries are protected from wave action, but still respond to tidal action. These ecosystems are often as productive as a tropical rainforest because the rivers bring nutrients from the land which is then circulated by the tides. Estuaries are typically not deep, so the photic zone allows productivity. Many animals use this more protected area to breed and as a nursery for offspring. Plants specially adapted to the boggy conditions are called hydrophytes, like water lilies and cypress trees.

Wetlands

• Lotic: flowing water (rivers) • Lentic: standing water (lakes) Wetlands occur along lentic and lotic environments. Lotic systems are flowing water systems, like rivers, and lentic systems are standing water systems, like lakes and ponds. Wetlands occur where the water table is at or close to the surface. Wetlands provide many ecosystem services, such as slowing storm surge from approaching hurricanes. The destruction of the wetlands in Louisiana is one reason why Hurricane Katrina was so devastating in 2005.

Geologic Processes

• Magmatic and hydrothermal processes frequently yield ore deposits Economic geomorphologists consider geologic processes as a means to find viable deposits. Different ore deposits form from different geologic processes. Iron ores are often concentrated along locations where igneous and metamorphic rocks form. Magmatic and hydrothermal processes frequently yield ore deposits, which are common near plate boundaries. The rocks must be mined and processed to liberate the ore.

Chemical Composition

• Major gases • 99.998% by volume • Trace gases • 0.002% by volume 99% of the atmosphere is comprised of two main or permanent gases. Diatomic nitrogen, N2, comprises roughly 78% by volume, and diatomic oxygen, O2, comprises another 21%. Argon is the third largest gas by volume, building the atmosphere to 99.9% by volume. These gases remain fixed in their amounts. Trace gases, which move into and out of the atmosphere in cycles, make up the remaining .1%. However, these trace gases are some of the most important to life.

Pessimistic vs. Optimistic

• Malthus vs. Boserup • Cassandra vs. Cornucopia There are two extreme and opposing viewpoints regarding the future of the world's resources. The pessimistic view is based on the work of Thomas Malthus. It's called Cassandra or neo-Malthusian. Neo simply means new or redefined. Cassandra is a Greek goddess that gave true prophecies that no one believed. Paul Ehrlich is a biologist that is a proponent of the neo-Malthusian view. The United Nations also promote neo-Malthusian ideas. It's considered ecocentric or biocentric. It focuses on catastrophic threats caused by overpopulation.

Population Distribution

• Megacity: 10 million or more residents The world is becoming urbanized, and more young people are settling in cities. Urban areas concentrate amenities and jobs, and this structure usually means that these resources are better accessible to the local population. Almost 80% of the people in the United States live in cities; now over 50% of the world's population is urbanized. While amenities are concentrated, the problems that come from development are also concentrated. Urbanization creates water and air quality issues, changes to the local climate, and increased vectors and pathways of communicable disease.

Heavy metals and other inorganic chemicals

• Mercury and lead accumulate in the organism Mercury and lead are toxic heavy metals that affect drinking water supplies. In the United States, the majority of mercury and lead comes from industry, like mining or landfills. Mine tailings contain other heavy metals that aren't as toxic but can still pollute, like copper and zinc. Heavy metals accumulate in animals including humans.

Biomining

• Metal extraction by using bacteria • Bacteria oxidize metal sulfides Biomining liberates ore from blocks of sulfides or oxides. The blocks are crushed into a fine powder. This allows each grain to be separated as either ore or gangue. The gangue can then be processed with a water solution containing bacteria. Reactions from the bacteria have extracted gold, copper, and uranium. Biomining is a cost effective process that extracts materials that would have normally been dismissed as waste. This technique is becoming more popular as large deposits become more scarce.

Drought and water scarcity

• Meteorological • Hydrological • Agricultural • Economic When considering the main issues surrounding water resources, the issues generally fall into categories of too much, not enough, or of poor quality. Not enough water can bring drought, and there are different types of drought. Lack of rainfall is called meteorological drought. Lowering of reservoirs, lakes, and rivers is called hydrologic drought, and depletion of soil moisture is called agricultural drought. Lack of access to potable water is called economic drought.

Natural gas

• Methane • Ethane • Propane • Butane Natural gas is expected to overtake coal as the second largest global supply of energy by 2035. Natural gas has few hydrocarbons, which makes it a more clean source of fuel. Natural gas includes methane, ethane, propane, and butane. Many residential building and business in the northern tier of the US use natural gas for their heating in the winter, as do Europe and Asia.

Dealing With Global Climate Change: Mitigation and Adaptation

• Mitigation is the moderation of effects • Adaptation is the response to changes • Best approach will likely require a combination of both mitigation and adaptation Climate has been changing for the last 4.6 billion years. Regardless of whether the causes or effects of climate change are understood, it's still important to plan for the possibilities and manage resources sustainably. Just addressing one component, like reducing carbon dioxide, will only have a small overall impact. It makes sense to prepare for possible outcomes while still actively working to understand the physical processes.

Genetic Diversity

• Monoculture: only one species • Polyculture: multiple species in same field Monocultures decrease biodiversity and impact productivity. Planting a single crop species is monoculture. Polyculture plants multiple crop species in the same field. Intercropping means that different plants would be cultivated within the same field. Some plants actually produce greater yield when grown along compatible plants. It's a very common practice to plant corn and legumes in the same field, because legumes are nitrogen fixers for the soil. Also, in the deserts of Arizona and Mexico, sunflowers and melons are often planted together, as are corn and winter squashes like pumpkin. The taller plants shade ground-hugging plants, allowing growth. Intercropping can not only improve soil productivity and plant yield, it also can assist with pollination, helpful insects, and water use.

Coal

• Most abundant fossil fuel Coal is the most abundant fossil fuel, but also one with substantial environmental effects. The EPA has further regulated US coal plants to reduce mercury emissions. These regulations have limited new coal plant developments and have caused some US plants to close permanently. Over 90% of the coal mined in the United States is used to generate electricity, and is a fairly inexpensive fuel source. Coal burning in the United States is mostly clean because of regulations, and coal-fired plants provide a good portion of the electrical supply. A coal-fired plant uses coal to heat water and create steam. The steam is what turns the turbines and generates electricity.

Deforestation

• Mostly an issue in developing countries • Primarily for crops and fuel Deforestation is the removal of large amounts of forested land. Tropical rainforests in Africa and South America are most at risk. Forests in the United States, Europe, and Asia are stable or increasing in size. Deforestation is primarily an issue in developing countries because the harvested lumber and cleared land contributes to their economy. Agricultural companies then use the cleared land for soybean and other economically profitable crops.

Rainfall patterns

• Must have moisture • Lift allows air to rise and condense Precipitation is the general term for all water that comes from the sky. In order to get precipitation, the cloud droplets must grow big enough to lose suspension and fall under the force of gravity. Locations that receive more precipitation will have more water vapor in the atmosphere, and a lifting mechanism that can cause moist air to rise and cool, forming clouds. The tropical rainforests are located where they are because there is plenty of water to evaporate from the oceans, and low pressure along the equator forces the air to rise a cool, condensing into clouds.

Minerals

• Naturally occurring inorganic crystalline solid with characteristic physical properties and a narrowly defined chemical composition Physical Properties Color Luster Cleavage Hardness Streak Minerals are naturally occurring inorganic crystalline solids with a distinctive chemical composition, like NaCL for sodium chloride. Sodium chloride is the mineral halite. While minerals aren't renewable, they're often recyclable. About 25% of mined resources are recycled. Some minerals like quartz, copper, iron ore, potash and more, serve essential roles in industry. Economic geomorphologists and geologists identify locations of mineral deposits that can be economically viable. Economically viable deposits of mineral or rocks are called ore.

Inorganic chemicals

• Nitrates • Arsenic Arsenic is naturally leached from aquifers that contain a lot of sulfides. Both hard water and higher amounts of arsenic are problems to Arizona's water supply. Bangladesh and southeast Asia also have problems with high arsenic concentrations. Arsenic is lethal at very low amounts. The EU and the EPA set 10 ppb as allowable. Nitrate is a main ingredient in fertilizer and typically enters the water supply in that manner. Nitrate concentrations above 10 ppm prevent oxygen from moving through the body and can lead to hypoxia.

Upwelling

• Nutrient-rich water moves to surface • Productive fishing grounds Upwelling is a process where cold nutrient rich water from the ocean depths is brought to the surface. Upwelling locations are next to coasts where currents move away from the coasts. This creates a force drawing up waters and nutrients from depth. Upwelling zones are very productive fishing grounds. The two largest fishing grounds are off the coast of Chile and Alaska. Upwelling is impacted by ENSO events, and can cause changes to fishing grounds.

Anthropocentric

• Often called Western • Intrinsic value: human life An anthropocentric worldview is often called the Western Worldview. The only item of intrinsic value in this worldview is human life. Adherents follow that humans are superior to nature and may use nature to provide whatever materials are needed. Unlimited consumption is only checked when humans consider management of natural resources to benefit their society. Concerns about nature are considered though the lens of human interests.

Oil shale and tar sands

• Oil shale requires more processing than crude oil • Hydraulic fracturing is used to extract the hydrocarbons Oil shale is shale sedimentary rocks that haven't released all of their hydrocarbons. They can be processed to create petroleum products, but oil shale requires more processing to extract the hydrocarbons than crude oil. As this technology improves, the production of oil shale has affected the crude oil supply. Oil shale is mined from surface techniques like open pit or strip mining. Nearly 3 trillion barrels of oil shale is expected to be recoverable in the future. When the oil shale is found in tightly bound deposits, hydraulic fracturing is used to extract the hydrocarbons. This is also called fracking. Large amounts of water are needed to pressurize the release of the hydrocarbons. Wastewater and other materials are injected into these wells. This builds up of pressure which can be released as small earthquakes. Fracking is environmentally disruptive but the extent is still uncertain. Tar sands are also found near the surface and are extracted from surface mining techniques. Tar sands are high concentrations of hydrocarbons in sand deposits. Canada and Venezuela have very large tar sand deposit.

Organic chemicals

• Organic chemicals contain carbon in their chain • Superfund sites are monitored by the EPA Organic chemicals contain carbon in their chain. They are often found in fuels, dry cleaning fluids, and other solvents. Volatile organic compounds evaporate into the air readily under normal atmospheric conditions. The abbreviation for this group like trichloroethene and benzene are VOXs. The gasoline smell when fueling cars comes from evaporating VOXs. In the United States, a superfund site is an area that has been contaminated with hazardous waste. Trichloroethelene was used as a solvent to clean computer drives. The solvents were dumped into regular drains that returned to aquifers. Consequently, much of the groundwater in southern Scottsdale Arizona is contaminated. The process to clean the groundwater is managed by the EPA. It requires that the groundwater is pumped to the surface and exposed to the air, allowing the TCE to evaporate.

Overpumping

• Overdraft and subsidence Overpumping can cause the ground surface to shift downward, called subsidence. Groundwater can act like a support column for the surface, and when the groundwater is removed from the aquifer and not recharged, the surface settles down into the void. In Arizona, overdrawing can lead to fissures, which are huge cracks in the surface.

Groundwater issues

• Overdraft and subsidence • Sinkholes and saltwater intrusion With more available groundwater than surface water from lakes and streams, groundwater is a major source of water not only for the United States but for the world. Groundwater supplies face many problems locally, nationally, and globally. Groundwater is also easily polluted, like from storm water or other releases or dumping into the water supply. Cleaning groundwater is expensive and sometimes impossible, so it is important to understand this essential freshwater supply.

Ozone "hole"

• Ozone (O3) is a natural component of the stratosphere but a human-made pollutant in troposphere • Ozone layer in stratosphere shields the Earth from UV radiation • Without ozone layer, Earth would be uninhabitable • Unnatural thinning of ozone, referred to as the 'ozone hole' where levels decrease 70% each year The protective ozone layer is in the stratosphere, and during the Southern Hemisphere spring, strong and very cold winds cause the ozone over Antarctica to thin. This natural process has been exacerbated by manmade accelerants that have a very long half-life, meaning they stay resident in the atmosphere for years. The Montreal Protocol in 1987 allowed for a reduction in the manmade accelerants called CFCs or chlorofluorocarbons, which were completely phased out in 2005. The ozone layer has shown significant improvement since the Montreal Protocol.

Solar Energy Plants

• Parabolic trough plants • Solar dish concentrator • Solar power tower plant Solar plants generate electricity by concentrating the sun's radiant energy to heat a fluid. The fluid is then circulated to heat water, which creates steam. The steam then turns a turbine to generate electricity. There are three different types of solar thermal power plants. Some use parabolic troughs to concentrate the sunlight, and these are used at the world's largest solar power plant in the Mojave Desert. The collector tilts the reflector to catch the sun's rays as the sun moves through the sky. A solar dish works much like the parabolic troughs, but can concentrate at a higher rate. A solar power tower focuses sunlight on a tower-mounted heat exchanger. Hundreds of sun-tracking mirrors concentrate the energy to the tower. A solar power tower system can concentrate the sun's energy hundreds of times more than just direct radiation. Power towers need a large amount of space in order to be costeffective.

US land designations

• Parks • Protect scenic, cultural, historic lands • Wilderness • Development is not allowed Yellowstone National Park was the world's first national park, designated to protect the land for future generations. The National Park Service is charged to protect America's scenic, cultural, and historic lands. Wilderness areas are lands where development is not allowed, and these locations are given the highest protection of any federal land. The same four agencies that regulate public land in the United States also provide oversight on wilderness land. Many threats to U.S. parks include overcrowding, crime, vandalism, litter, and pollution.

Grades

• Peat (90% water) • Lignite (brown coal 60% carbon) • Subbituminous coal (black coal 70% carbon) • Bituminous (85% carbon) • Anthracite (95% carbon) • Anthracite is the highest grade coal but is found at the deepest depths There are different grades of coal. Peat is partially decayed and compacted plant material. Peat is considered a sedimentary rock. It's extracted from bogs and swamps. Ireland and Finland harvest a large amount of peat where the material is dried and used for domestic purposes like cooking. At depth, peat can compact into lignite. Lignite then transitions into bituminous coal at depth. Lignite and bituminous coal are both located closer to the surface. Both are types of sedimentary rocks. They can be extracted with strip mining, open pit mining, or mountaintop removal. About 60% of US coal is obtained by surface mining. Anthracite coal is considered a metamorphic rock where heat and pressure transform bituminous coal into a harder longer burning coal. It's found at great depths and requires subsurface mining techniques. However, anthracite coal is the highest grade and produces the greatest heat output. Anthracite mining has decreased in the United States and is now mined minimally.

Regulation

• Permitting: achieve compliance through the market • Subsidies: tax breaks or credits Permitting techniques can influence a market. The Clean Air Act of 1990 assigned certain thresholds for pollutants like ground-level ozone and sulfur dioxide. Companies that exceed emissions of sulfur dioxide can trade with other companies that haven't exceeded their thresholds. In that way, both companies achieve compliance through the market. Subsidies are tax breaks or credits or sometimes even payments. Governments use subsidies to incentivize behaviors, including research and development. More recently, the US Government has advanced billions of dollars in the research and development of renewable energy systems.

Urban Air Pollution

• Photochemical smog is a brown-orange haze formed by chemical reactions involving sunlight, nitrogen oxides, and hydrocarbons • Phytochemical smog was first noted in Los Angeles in the 1940s and is worse in the summer (higher sunlight) • Ozone is a principal component of photochemical smog • Results in eye irritation, aggravates respiratory illness, and harms plant tissue • Sources include car exhaust, dry cleaners, and bakeries Smog is a generic term that usually refers to poor air quality in cities. If the smog is made up mostly of ozone, it is referred to as photochemical smog. Ozone forms when sunlight photodisassociates the stable O2 molecule, leaving an unstable monatomic oxygen molecule. The unstable oxygen molecule bonds with the stable O2, creating O3, or ozone. Volatile organic compounds, or VOx, accelerate the production of ozone, as do nitrous oxides. VOx are released from gasoline, and nitrous oxides are a byproduct of gasoline combustion in most cars. Ozone production is most rapid where incoming sunlight is strongest, so clear summer skies create the most tropospheric ozone.

Point and non-point sources

• Point: specific location • Non-point: diffuse sources If the source of a pollutant can be identified, then perhaps the issue can be mitigated or prevented completely. Point sources come from specific locations and are usually easy to identify and resolve. Nonpoint sources are much more difficult to locate. Nonpoint sources are often called diffuse sources because the pollutants can be accumulated over a large area. The fertilizer runoff into the Mississippi River is an example of nonpoint pollution. Another example is storm water. Storm water comes from oil and other materials that sit on top of roadways or carports. When it rains, those pollutants are then transported into the local water supply.

Human Population Growth

• Population has doubled 2 times in the last 100 years • Population: numbers of individuals within a defined area • Growth rate: annual change (%) Global human population reached 7 billion near the end of 2011, at such an increase that just 50 years earlier, the global population was only 3 billion. Personal energy use has increased about 40% in that same time frame. The United Nations expects global population to reach 9.8 billion by 2050. That means that more energy and more resources will be needed and consumed to support the growing world. Population refers to the numbers of individuals within a defined area. Growth rates refer to the rate of change of a population's size. A growth rate is expressed as an annual percentage of change.

Birth Rate

• Population rates: per 1000 people • Crude rates: disregard gender and age Population rates are expressed per 1000 people annually. When gender and age are disregarded, the numbers are called crude rates. Birth rates of 30 are considered high. That means for every 1000 people, 30 babies are born annually. A birth rate of 18 or below are considered low. 20% of countries have a crude birth rate over 30. The global crude birth rate is currently around 19. Birth rates are correlated to development. Countries that are more developed have lower birth rates. Women in less developed countries tend to reproduce at younger ages than women in developed countries.

Human Population Growth Rate

• Positive growth rate: population will grow • Negative growth rate: population will decrease • Current global population growth rate: 1.1% The population growth rate is the change in the number of people living in an area over a certain amount of time. The rate is calculated as crude birth rates minus crude death rates. If the number is positive, growth will occur. If it's negative, population will decrease. If birth and death rates are equal, population is stable. That's referred to as a zero population growth rate. The global population growth rate is currently around 1.1% annually. In 1960, the global growth rate was 2.2% annually. The United Nations projects that a zero global population growth rate will occur around the end of this century. Even though global birth rates are declining, global population is still growing because fewer people are dying as life expectancies are increasing.

Society and Environment

• Pre-Industrial • Industrial Revolution and Enlightenment • Modern Environmental Movement - The value of nature is a man-made construct. There are distinct historical movements or worldviews that encapsulate human attitudes toward nature. These are marked by - pre-industrial viewpoints and the rise of agrarian societies. - Next by Enlightenment and the Industrial Revolution. - And then by the modern environmental movement.

History of Growth

• Pre-agricultural • Agricultural • Industrialization There were three main periods in the last 100,000 years where human populations grew rapidly. - The first was the pre-agricultural period where humans expanded into new territories. At the end of this period around 10000 years ago, human population ranged between 5 and 10 million. - The next growth occurred during the onset of agriculture. At the end of this period just before the Industrial Revolution, the population was around 500 million. - Industrialization from 1800 to present has helped human population move from 500 million to nearly 7.5 billion.

Energy consumption

• Primarily non-renewable usage • Fossil fuels • Uranium Non-renewable energy resources are those materials or resources that cannot be renewed or replenished within a short period of time. All fossil fuels are nonrenewable, like coal, crude oil, natural gas. Not all nonrenewable energy sources are fossil fuels. Uranium ore, which is used for nuclear energy is considered nonrenewable because uranium is depleted. Energy is essential to modern times, and compared to 250 years ago, people are healthier and have greater access to moving out of poverty because of energy. However, the world has also strongly transitioned to nonrenewable energy sources in this same timeframe.

Stakeholders

• Primary • Secondary • Tertiary - Primary stakeholders are those that directly influence, control, or are impacted by the issue. Examples of primary stakeholders might be governments or corporations. - Secondary stakeholders are people or groups that are indirectly impacted or have control to a lesser extent. Examples of secondary stakeholders might be students, religious organizations, or non-profits. - Tertiary stakeholders may not have any direct influence or control but could certainly influence the outcome. A tertiary stakeholder might be triggered from an unintended consequence. An example of tertiary stakeholders might be taxpayers or undocumented people in a community.

Smelting

• Processing to extract ore • Deposit is heated • Impurities are slag Iron is primarily used to make steel, and it's main modern use is for construction. China produces over half of global steel production. The United States produces less than 5%. Steel is often recycled. Aluminum has taken iron's place in automobile fabrication because it is lighter. Smelting is a type of processing where the deposit is heated to extreme temperatures to extract the iron ore. Molten metal and slag are the outputs from smelting. Slag contains the impurities that are skimmed and cooled off the molten metal, which is then discarded.

Policy

• Provides structure for how to value and manage resources • Problem must be first defined Policy is the arena that provides a structure for how to value and thus manage natural resources. Policies are guiding principles that are formalized as law. These laws can regulate or even incentivize how natural resources are used. Most governments follow certain frameworks for developing and adopting policy. First the problem must be defined. Then, the appropriate stakeholders are assembled to determine how to handle the issue. After public hearings and formalized debates, law can be passed. Implementation can be informal or formal enforcement. Laws can be revised if the intended outcome is not achieved. The National Academy of Science report titled Can Earth's and Society's Systems meet the needs of 10 billion people is an example of this type of framework.

Migration, Continue...

• Push: drive emigration • Pull: drive immigration Among the economically developed countries, positive net migration rates account for the majority of population growth. Net migration is affected by push and pull factors. Push factors are situations that force emigration, like war or famine. Pull factors are situations that drive immigration, such as jobs or family.

Energy Balance

• Radiative forcings drive earth's energy budget Some of those many other processes that can influence climate and climate change are found in the energy balance. Radiative forcings drive the earth's energy balance, and include processes like the greenhouse effect, particulate matter in the atmosphere, clouds, or solar output. Ozone in the stratosphere cools, and ozone in the troposphere warms, and the chart acknowledges a medium scientific understanding of those processes. Sulphates are emitted by volcanoes and contribute to cooling, as does biomass burning and dust storms.

Rangelands

• Rangelands: grasslands for grazing livestock • Shortgrass prairie: mostly west of the 100th meridian • Used largely for grazing • Tallgrass prairie: mostly east of the 100th meridian • Largely plowed for cropland Rangelands are grasslands that are primarily used for grazing livestock. Grasses are the dominant plants in grasslands. Rangelands make up about 30% of the total land area in the United States, mostly in areas west of the 100th meridian. This is the location of the shortgrass prairie. The grasses have a strong root system that holds the nutrient rich soil in place. Much of the tallgrass prairie grasslands east of the 100th meridian have been plowed under to make way for profitable crops like corn, soybeans, and wheat.

Decommissioning

• Reactor core and all radioactive components are managed to contain high-level radiation When a power company decides to close a plant or for some other reason must close, it is decommissioned. That means that the reactor core and all radioactive components of the plant are managed so that the high-level radiation is contained. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has guidelines on the processes, as does the IAEA, or International Atomic Energy Agency.

Networks

• Relationship among stocks and flows • Stocks are called nodes • Flows are called edges - Spatial relationships can be evaluated through network analysis. - Aspects of fragmentation or contiguity can be shown by plotting the locations of stocks and flows.

Replacement-level Fertility

• Replacement level: 2.1 children Replacement level fertility is the number of children a family would need to produce to replace themselves. Replacement level is estimated at 2.1. The number slightly higher than 2 allows for children not reaching reproductive age.

Water Use Law - United States

• Riparian doctrine • Prior appropriation Each state in the United States sets its own legal structure for water law. Eastern states predominantly adhere to riparian water rights. Riparianism is based on English common law. This legal structure assigns general usage rights only to land owners adjacent or touching a surface body of water like a river or lake. It can also correspond to ground water under the property. Land owners not adjacent to the water have no rights to the water. Water law in the western United States is called prior appropriation. It developed because surface water is more scarce in the west. It's based on who started using the water first. It's often called first in time, first in right. This allowed original water users to divert water for their own benefit. This affected users downstream from the source. Today, it's common to have states operate under a hybrid legal structure.

Sources

• Roughly 97% of water is stored in oceans and considered not available for consumption • Freshwater is used for consumption The majority of water is held in the ocean basins, and is not available for human consumption. The greatest amount of freshwater is found in the cryosphere, that storage location where water is in solid form, such as glaciers, sea ice, and snow. Water in the cryosphere is generally not considered accessible for human consumption. Only a very small percentage of the earth's total water is found as freshwater at the surface, in lakes and streams. It's much less than half a percent. There is more water below the ground as groundwater than there is above the ground in lakes and rivers.

Sewage treatment

• Secondary treatment removes dissolved organic matter • Tertiary treatment removes 99% of impurities, like phosphorus and nitrogen 62% of the wastewater plants in the United States perform both primary and secondary treatments. The water is then clear of organic waste and is disinfected, but might still contain pollutants like heavy metals, dissolved calcium, or salts. The water in Phoenix is called hard water because of all the dissolved calcium. A filmy appearance on clean glassware is from calcium deposits. Tertiary treatments only occur in about 27% of all US water treatment plants primarily because of the excessive costs.

Human impacts

• Shipping • Dumping • Plastics The majority of the oxygen we breathe doesn't come from land plants. Instead, it comes from phytoplankton in the ocean. We rely on the ocean for the air we breath and the food we eat. It's ironic humans contribute to many of the problems in the ocean, like pollution or overfishing. No nation has a legal claim to the open ocean. It belongs to everyone. Unfortunately, if everyone acts in their own self-interest, then the resource can easily be depleted or destroyed. The Pacific Garbage Patch is a Tragedy of the Commons. No one has ownership of the Pacific Ocean. The ocean is frequently used to discard trash. About 80% of the waste is estimated to come from land-based operations, while the remaining 20% comes from cargo ships and fisheries. The North Pacific Gyre circulates the waste. Trash from Japan takes about a year to reach the patch, while trash from North America take about six years to be transported. Plastic doesn't biodegrade. It breaks down slowly through photodegradation. That creates smaller pieces of plastic called microplastics. Plastics dumped into the Pacific Ocean have a residency of decades. Microplastics can then be consumed by aquatic organisms. The Pacific Garbage Patch is an accumulation of these dumped plastics.

Industrial materials

• Silica - quartz • Stone: Granite, Sandstone, Limestone, Travertine, Marble, Slate • Sand, Cement, Glass Industrial materials are used in manufacture or construction. Stone is mined for a variety of building designs, such as walls, roads, structures, or ornamental landscaping. Sand and gravel can be mined from alluvial deposits or crushed to specific sizes. Alluvium is material that has been transported in running water, so floodplains and beaches are often used to mine sand and gravel. Sand and gravel aggregates are used to add strength to cement to make concrete or asphalt. Cement is a binding material developed from limestone, silica, and clays. Silica is used to make glass and is mined mostly from quartz or sandstone.

Timber

• Softwoods have larger fibers and are easier to cut • Hardwoods are more durable and dense Wood is made from cellulose fibers. Softwoods like conifers have larger fibers. Hardwoods have more compacted fibers. Typical hardwood trees are deciduous trees like maple and oak. Softwoods are easier to cut than hardwoods but are less dense. That makes softwood structurally weaker than hardwood. Lumber is the processed harvested wood and is still used extensively in construction. The wood can be further processed to create plywood or paper.

Soil Conservation

• Soil erosion: removal of productive soil Soil erosion is the removal of productive soil. Soil erosion happens when the soil is not anchored by vegetation, and can be transported by wind or water. Plant roots serve to anchor soil and intercept raindrops. If rain hits bare soil, it disrupts the soil profile and can lead to erosion. Conservation tillage enhances soil conservation by planting grass between rows of crops. Contour plowing follows the topography which decreases soil erosion, as does strip cropping and terracing. Good soil conservation practices promote sustainability.

Soil Moisture and Groundwater

• Soil moisture: zone of aeration • Groundwater: zone of saturation Water in the zone of aeration is called soil moisture. The zone of aeration is usually the uppermost portion of the soil profile, where air pockets still exist. As the water continues its downward movement under the force of gravity, the water can collect in amounts that saturate the soil. This is the zone of saturation, and water in the zone of saturation is called groundwater. The dividing line between the two zones is the water table. The water table is not fixed, meaning that it can move up and down depending upon precipitation or groundwater use.

Locating fish

• Sonar • Buoys • Infrared/UV Schools of fish can be found through remote sensors. Sonar bounces sound waves through water and returns a signal to the transmitter for depth and size of schools. Many marine mammals use high frequency sound waves called echo location to communicate. Little disruption appears to impact marine mammals by sonars using mid- and low-frequencies. Moored buoys are anchored to the ocean floor. They can also contain sonars as well as weather stations. Other man-made sources of sound include watercraft and underwater mining. Infrared sensors detect temperature differences in the water. Tuna is often easily detected through IR sensing.

Demographic Transition

• Stage 1: Pre-transition • Stage 2: Mortality transition • Stage 3: Fertility transition • Stage 4: Stability transition Warren Thompson in 1929 described how economic development increased life expectancy. His findings are portrayed on the demographic transition chart. - Stage 1 is pre-economic development, which equates to food scarcity and high amounts of disease. Death rates are high, so families compensate with high birth rates. Population growth is close to zero, neither increasing or decreasing. - The mortality transition in Stage 2 sees improved living conditions. Death rates decrease, but birth rates still remain high. This creates rapid population growth. Afghanistan is currently in this stage. - Stage 3 shows continued economic improvement. This causes societal shifts. Families start to plan and delay the timing of their families. Death rates are still low, but now so are birth rates. Population growth slows down. This is currently happening in the United States. - Stage 4 moves to where the birth rate is nearly the same as the death rate. This brings zero population growth or even a decline in population. Japan, Italy, and Spain are in this stage.

Decommissioning techniques

• Storage • Entombment • Dismantling Storage can contain radioactive materials until their materials decay enough for safety. This still requires the plant to be monitored for a long period of time. Entombment was done at Chernobyl, where the reactor core is encased in tons of concrete. This still requires long-term site monitoring. The last option is where the core is immediately dismantled. The radioactive materials would then be decontaminated to a safe level. The process of decommissioning is usually required to be completed within 60 years. There are over 20 reactors currently being decommissioned in the United States.

Surface Mining

• Strip mining digs trenches • Spoil bank fills in trenches Strip mining is useful for coal, clays, and phosphates. Strip mining digs trenches to excavate the materials. The spoil bank of waste is then used to fill in the trench. Mountaintop removal is a form of strip mining. It's being used to mine the coal deposits of the Appalachians. The top of the mountain is removed, and the spoil bank is dropped into the valleys next to the mountain. The process essentially flattens the topography.

Types of Agricultural Production

• Subsistence • Industrialized The first type of agricultural practices were based on subsistence, which means that enough food was produced for the family and perhaps a bit for trade. There are different types of subsistence farming practices, ranging from shifting cultivation, slash-and-burn agriculture, nomadic herding, and intercropping. Shifting cultivation is where planting cycles are moved among fallow fields. Allowing land to go fallow between crops refreshed the nutrient profile and productivity of the soil. The Industrial Revolution was instrumental in the advancement of agriculture. Since more work could be done with machines, farmers were able to produce higher yields.

Lakes

• Surface lakes roughly 20% of global water supply Surface waters like lakes and rivers are only a small portion of available global freshwater, but they do serve populations adjacent to the freshwater bodies. The Great Lakes in North America contains about 84% of North America's surface freshwater, and about 20% of the world's surface fresh water. The lakes are used for transportation, power generation, recreation, agriculture, and water for consumption. Approximately 30 million people in the United States and Canada use the Great Lakes. The lakes had tremendous pressures over the last 100 years, but have improved in the past few decades. The Great Lakes Compact regulates water usage and management among 8 bordering states. There are additional international agreements with Ontario and Quebec.

Aerosols

• Suspended material • Liquid or solid • Particulate matter (PM) Solids and liquids are also held in suspension by the turbulence of the atmosphere. Collectively called particulate matter, some airborne materials are detrimental to human health. In the United States, particulate matter is monitored by local and federal agencies. The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality issues warnings for dust storms and other events. The Environmental Protection Agency issues fines with exceedance of certain thresholds.

Environmental impacts

• Tailings: waste from mining • Acid mine drainage: water leaches and transports impurities The extraction and processing of mineral resources results in many environmental impacts. Tailings are waste from the mining process and have no economic value. They contain impurities that are left in piles at the surface. Tailings can contain many types of pollutants, including cyanide, mercury, and sulfuric acid. Acid mine drainage can result as these pollutants are washed from the tailings and mines into the watershed. Depending upon the minerals, smelting can also release large amounts of sulfur, which can contribute to air quality issues.

Land and Water

• Temperature range impacted • Annual and diurnal • Continental • Large ranges • Maritime • Small ranges Continental locations typically have dry atmospheres because they are away from any large body of water. Phoenix is considered to be continental. Maritime locations, like San Diego, are influenced by large bodies of water. Maritime locations are noted by higher amounts of moisture in the atmosphere. The amount of water vapor in the atmosphere influences diurnal and annual temperature ranges.

Mining spills

• The Animus River was contaminated by the Gold King Mine spill in 2015 Anywhere between 440 to 540 tons of metals dumped into the Animus River in Colorado from a mine spill in 2015. The heavy metals were mostly aluminum and iron, but also contained cadmium and mercury. The spill lasted several hours and ultimately moved through three states and sacred tribal lands. The water turned a mustard color for several days as the aluminum and iron moved through Utah and New Mexico. It was inadvertently triggered by a contractor hired to clean mine deposits in the area.

Biocapacity

• The amount and quality of land needed for resources for a given population • As area increases and population decreases, biocapacity increases Related to ecological footprint is the concept of biocapacity. Biocapacity describes the amount and quality of land needed to supply resources for a given population. It's also expressed as acres. The larger the biocapacity, the more quality resources available for that population. Smaller populations in larger areas would have a larger biocapacity. As a population consumes resources outside its geographic boundaries, its biocapacity decreases. As the quality of its resources decrease, it's biocapacity decreases.

Crude oil

• The basis for refined petroleum products Crude oil is the basis for refined products like gasoline. Crude oil is a fossil fuel. It's a hydrocarbon deposit from decomposed plants and animals. Crude oil takes millions of years to form from thermal and bacterial processes. That means the supply is finite and non-renewable. Crude oil is found underground in sedimentary rock layers. Rock structures trap the less dense material. Oil drilling rigs recover the crude oil. Over 100 countries produce crude oil. Russia, Saudi Arabia, and the United States contribute nearly 40% of the total global supply.

Fishing

• The capture of aquatic life Fishing is the capture of aquatic life. These can include fish, mollusks, and crustaceans from inland or marine sources. The latest statistics from FAO show that nearly 93 million metric tonnes were harvested from inland and marine sources. A metric ton is roughly 2200 pounds. The marine capture was 81 million metric tonnes. Asian countries accounted for 53% of all marine captures, with China first at 15 million metric tonnes. Indonesia is next with 6 million metric tonnes, and the United States harvested 5 million metric tonnes. Fisheries provide food and income to over 820 million people.

Carrying Capacity

• The largest population a specific area can support based on resources Carrying capacity is an ecological concept based on Malthusian ideas. It refers to zero population growth. It's the point at which competition for resources stabilizes the population. It's the largest population that a specific area can support. As a population approaches its carrying capacity, competition for resources becomes extreme. Often birth rates decrease and death rates increase. Suffering increases. The earth's carrying capacity has been estimated to be as low as 4 billion or as high as 16 billion. The concept is based exclusively on resources. It doesn't take into account innovation. Of concern by some researchers is that human population would likely be unsustainable long before it reaches carrying capacity.

The Basic Relationship

• The sun emits radiation (shortwave) • The radiation is absorbed by the surfaces of the earth • The earth emits radiation (longwave) The sun emits radiation mostly in the shortwave spectrum. The atmosphere doesn't fully absorb this form of radiation, but the terrestrial surface of the earth do absorb the sunlight The ground warms and starts to emit radiation back into the atmosphere. The ground emits longwave radiation. The greenhouse gases in the atmosphere then selectively absorbs the longwave radiation, and the air starts to warm. This is how air temperatures change on a daily basis.

Ecological Footprint

• The total area needed to support the population's consumption Another ecological concept is the ecological footprint. It portrays the impact on the environment based on consumption of resources. The footprint describes the total land area needed to support the consumption in a population. It's expressed as acres of land. It accounts for things like acres of timber needed for construction or grasslands needed to support cattle.

Waste

• Thermal pollution • Radioactive pollution Warm water is cooled in a cooling basin or is dumped into a nearby water supply, which is a form of thermal pollution. Nuclear energy does not create carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gases, but fossil fuels are also used in the mining process to extract the uranium ore. Spent fuel rods are high-level radioactive waste, which means they give off a large amount of radiation. Spent fuel rods are usually stored on the plant's site. There are no permanent storage locations for radioactive waste in the United States.

Total Fertility Rates

• Total Fertility Rate (TFR): live births per woman The total fertility rate is the actual average number of children born to each woman. Total fertility rates have dropped since the 1950s. For example, in 1950, the total fertility rate in developing countries was 6.5, meaning that each woman would, on average, have 6.5 children during her reproductive years. Total fertility rates for developing countries are now around 3.1. The global total fertility rate is currently around 2.5, which is still above replacement levels.

Ecosystems inputs

• Trophic level efficiency: percent of energy transferred from one trophic level to the next Each level in a food chain is a trophic level. In an ecosystem, energy flows in a linear manner from producer to consumer. The efficiency with which the energy transfers trophic levels can be quantified. For example, a domesticated chicken has a tropic level efficiency of approximately 35-45%. That means 1 unit of energy in the chicken requires 35-45 units of energy from producers, such as corn. Trophic level efficiency does not take into account energy expended to produce the feed for chicken, care and process the animals, and then transport the animals.

IPCC

• United Nations has charged the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to provide scientific assessment of climate change The IPCC is the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and it's administered by the United Nations. They assemble experts on climate change to run computer models and evaluate research findings. The IPCC has written five reports since it was established in 1988. They are tasked to understand the status of climate change and any associated socio-economic impacts. One thing to note is that the IPCC is not tasked to investigate natural causes of climate change. Their mission is to understand human impacts and effects.

Vulnerability and Resiliency

• Vulnerability: the susceptibility of a community to stress and hazards • Resiliency: the ability to reduce risk, improve responses, and recover quickly Vulnerability describes the susceptibility of a community to stress and hazards. Factors to vulnerability include poverty or affluence, health, infrastructure development, education levels, mortality, employment, and many other socioeconomic demographics that describe a community. Decreasing vulnerability creates a community able to withstand risk and respond quickly to that risk. In other words, reducing vulnerability increases resiliency. Resiliency is the ability to reduce risk, improve responses and recover quickly from events.

Greenhouse Effect

• Water vapor is the largest (by volume) greenhouse gas The greenhouse gases selectively absorb longwave energy emitted by the earth. Without the greenhouse effect, all incoming energy from the sun would be lost every night back into outer space. Global temperatures would be below freezing and life as we know it would not exist.

Strong or weak sustainability

• Weak: environment is a resource • Strong: emphasis on environment - Weak sustainability is simply focused on wealth generation. it's the idea that human capital can substitute for natural capital. Human capital includes concepts like innovation, knowledge, and technology. - Natural capital refers to natural resources. Strong sustainability maintains that these are both essential and complimentary, and that one can't replace another.

Weather vs Climate

• Weather—conditions in the atmosphere at a given place and time - Can vary hour to hour and due to temperature, atmospheric pressure, precipitation, humidity • Climate—weather patterns that occur in a place over a period of years - Determined by Earth's distance from sun, distribution of water and land, vegetation Weather is the current status of the atmosphere, and climate describes the general weather patterns over time. Temperature and precipitation are the two most common variables used to describe climate. Climate change most commonly refers to changes in temperature or precipitation patterns, which can include changes to magnitude, frequency, and range. However, climate change can also refer to other aspects of climate. Phenology describes changes within ecosystems, like changes to seasonal leafing or hatching dates.